Telehealth memory clinics in primary healthcare: real-world experiences from low-resource settings in Greece.

Background: The role of primary healthcare is pivotal in the management of the surge of dementia prevalence particularly in low-resource areas. In this study, two telehealth-based memory clinics in primary healthcare operating within the frames of the INTegRated InterveNtion of pSychogerIatric Care (INTRINSIC) are presented.

Methods: The first clinic, which is led by a general practitioner, operates at a primary healthcare center in a semi-mountainous area and closely collaborates with the geriatric psychiatry outpatient clinic of the Patras University General Hospital via a telehealth medicine platform.

Quantifying radiation exposure in the radiological investigation of non-arthritic hip pain.

Radiological investigations are essential for evaluating underlying structural abnormalities in patients presenting with non-arthritic hip pain. The aim of this study is to quantify the radiation exposure associated with common radiological investigations performed in assessing patients presenting with non-arthritic hip pain. A retrospective review of our institutional imaging database was performed.

Emerging Role of the Slit/Roundabout (Robo) Signaling Pathway in Glioma Pathogenesis and Potential Therapeutic Options.

Gliomas represent the most common primary Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors, characterized by increased heterogeneity, dysregulated intracellular signaling, extremely invasive properties, and a dismal prognosis. They are generally resistant to existing therapies and only a few molecular targeting options are currently available. In search of signal transduction pathways with a potential impact in glioma growth and immunotherapy, the Slit guidance ligands (Slits) and their Roundabout (Robo) family of receptors have been revealed as key regulators of tumor cells and their microenvironment.

Ligand-induced conformational changes in the β1-adrenergic receptor revealed by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry.

G Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest family of signalling proteins responsible for translating extracellular stimuli into intracellular functions. They play crucial roles in numerous physiological processes and are major targets for drug discovery. Dysregulation of GPCRs is implicated in various diseases, making understanding their structural dynamics critical for therapeutic development.

A cross-cultural study of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment for people with hearing impairment.

Background: Cognitive screening tools enable the detection of cognitive impairment, facilitate timely intervention, inform clinical care, and allow long-term planning. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment for people with hearing impairment (MoCA-H) was developed as a reliable cognitive screening tool for people with hearing loss. Using the same methodology across four languages, this study examined whether cultural or linguistic factors affect the performance of the MoCA-H.

MSe Collision Energy Optimization for the Analysis of Membrane Proteins Using HDX-cIMS.

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) has evolved as an essential technique in structural proteomics. The use of ion mobility separation (IMS) coupled to HDX-MS has increased the applicability of the technique to more complex systems and has been shown to improve data quality and robustness. The first step when running any HDX-MS workflow is to confirm the sequence and retention time of the peptides resulting from the proteolytic digestion of the nondeuterated protein.

Exploratory study of nocebo effect in senior medical students.

Background: Νocebo Effect is known to induce adverse symptoms after negative expectations which can be manifested on a physical and psychological level. As 6th year medical students often face a wide range of clinical challenges and may be prone to negative expectations or beliefs affecting their pre-clinical and clinical success, we want to investigate how they are affected by the Nocebo Effect.

Objective: To investigate whether a nocebo effect can be induced when exposing final-year students to the clinical context of their training.

Cyclic Ion Mobility for Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange-Mass Spectrometry Applications.

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) has emerged as a powerful tool to probe protein dynamics. As a bottom-up technique, HDX-MS provides information at peptide-level resolution, allowing structural localization of dynamic changes. Consequently, the HDX-MS data quality is largely determined by the number of peptides that are identified and monitored after deuteration.

Depressive symptoms in the entire spectrum of cognitive ageing in Greece: evidence from the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD).

Objectives: To study (i) the prevalence of mild and moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms in the entire spectrum of cognitive ageing in Greece and (ii) the relationship between these symptoms and demographic and clinical data.

Methods: The study was based on the randomly selected cohort of the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the 15-item version of the Geriatric Depression Scale.

Brain multi-contrast, multi-atlas segmentation of diffusion tensor imaging and ensemble learning automatically diagnose late-life depression.

We investigated the potential of machine learning for diagnostic classification in late-life major depression based on an advanced whole brain white matter segmentation framework. Twenty-six late-life depression and 12 never depressed individuals aged > 55 years, matched for age, MMSE, and education underwent brain diffusion tensor imaging and a multi-contrast, multi-atlas segmentation in MRIcloud. Fractional anisotropy volume, mean fractional anisotropy, trace, axial and radial diffusivity (RD) extracted from 146 white matter parcels for each subject were used to train and test the AdaBoost classifier using stratified 12-fold cross validation.

Birmingham Royal Orthopaedic Hospital (BROH) Femoral Offset-An Ancillary Measure of Adult Dysplasia of the Hip.

 Adult dysplasia of the hip (ADH) is a disorder of abnormal development of the hip joint resulting in a shallow acetabulum and uncovering of the femoral head. Several radiological measurements such as the Tönnis angle (acetabular index), lateral center edge angle of Wiberg, and cross-sectional imaging parameters exist to calculate hip dysplasia.  The aim of this article was to describe a new ancillary linear measure of ADH on cross-sectional imaging, the Birmingham Royal Orthopaedic Hospital (BROH) Femoral offset.

Posterior spinal decompression in adults with spinal cord injury without traumatic compromise of the spinal canal: what is the data?

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) can be caused by a variety of factors and its severity can range from a mild concussion to a complete severing of the spinal cord. Τreatment depends on the type and severity of injury, the patient's age and overall health. Reduction of dislocated or fractured vertebrae via closed manipulation or surgical procedures, fixation and removal of bony fragments and debris that compromise the spinal canal are indicated for decompression of the spinal cord and stabilization of the spine.

Teleconsultations for mental health: Recommendations from a Delphi panel.

Introduction: The use of teleconsultations for mental health has drastically increased since 2020 due to the Covid19 pandemic. In the present paper, we aimed to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of teleconsultations for mental health compared to face-to-face consultations, and to provide recommendations in this domain.

Methods: The recommendations were gathered using a Delphi methodology.

A Systematic Review of Pharmacological Interventions for Apathy in Aging Neurocognitive Disorders.

Objective: Apathy, a frequent neuropsychiatric symptom in aging neurocognitive disorders, has been associated with cognitive decline and functional disability. Therefore, timely provision of pharmacological interventions for apathy is greatly needed.

Design: A systematical literature review of existing studies was conducted up to 30 May 2023 in several databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, Cochrane, Google Scholar, etc.

Low cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis: a clinical study.

Background: Recently, cognitive deficits occurring in rheumatic diseases have attracted scientific attention. Cognitive symptoms in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) have not been thoroughly studied. This study aimed to assess cognitive function and its relationship with depressive symptoms in RA and SSc and compare it to mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease (MiND) and to individuals without cognitive impairment.

Assessing the pool activity level (PAL) checklist for use with people with hearing and vision loss.

Background: The PAL is a career-completed assessment that indexes cognitive functional ability to inform individualised support. As hearing and vision loss are prevalent, we assessed the PAL for potential bias with hearing or vision impairment.

Methods: We collected PAL responses for 333 adults aged over 60 years in the UK, France, Canada, Greece and Cyprus.

Validation of the test for finding word retrieval deficits (WoFi) in detecting Alzheimer's disease in a naturalistic clinical setting.

Background: Detecting impaired naming capacity contributes to the detection of mild (MildND) and major (MajorND) neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The Test for Finding Word retrieval deficits (WoFi) is a new, 50-item, auditory stimuli-based instrument.

Objective: The study aimed to adapt WoFi to the Greek language, to develop a short version of WoFi (WoFi-brief), to compare the item frequency and the utility of both instruments with the naming subtest of the widely used Addenbrooke's cognitive examination III (ACEIIINaming) in detecting MildND and MajorND due to AD.

Radiation-induced meningiomas (RIM) in adults: A single-centre retrospective experience.

Introduction: Radiotherapy of central nervous system (CNS) is treatment against many paediatric cancers, even if it is a well-recognized risk factor for meningioma formation. An increased risk of developing secondary brain tumors like radiation-induced meningiomas (RIM) is related to irradiated patients.

Research Question: This retrospective study aims to present RIM cases treated in a single tertiary-hospital in Greece and compare the results with international literature and cases of sporadic meningiomas.

Old-age mental telehealth services at primary healthcare centers in low- resource areas in Greece: design, iterative development and single-site pilot study findings.

Background: Even though communities in low-resource areas across the globe are aging, older adult mental and cognitive health services remain mainly embedded in tertiary- or secondary hospital settings, and thus not easily accessible by older adults living in such communities. Here, the iterative development of INTegRated InterveNtion of pSychogerIatric Care (INTRINSIC) services addressing the mental and cognitive healthcare needs of older adults residing in low-resource areas of Greece is depicted.

Methods: INTRINSIC was developed and piloted in three iterative phases: (i) INTRINSIC initial version conceptualization; (ii) A 5-year field testing in Andros island; and (iii) Extending the services.

Integrating Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange-Mass Spectrometry with Molecular Simulations Enables Quantification of the Conformational Populations of the Sugar Transporter XylE.

A yet unresolved challenge in structural biology is to quantify the conformational states of proteins underpinning function. This challenge is particularly acute for membrane proteins owing to the difficulties in stabilizing them for in vitro studies. To address this challenge, we present an integrative strategy that combines hydrogen deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) with ensemble modeling.

Structural dynamics in the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein.

SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein mediates receptor binding and subsequent membrane fusion. It exists in a range of conformations, including a closed state unable to bind the ACE2 receptor, and an open state that does so but displays more exposed antigenic surface. Spikes of variants of concern (VOCs) acquired amino acid changes linked to increased virulence and immune evasion.

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry of integral membrane proteins in native-like environments: current scenario and the way forward.

Integral membrane proteins (IMPs) perform a range of diverse functions and their dysfunction underlies numerous pathological conditions. Consequently, IMPs constitute most drug targets, and the elucidation of their mechanism of action has become an intense field of research. Historically, IMP studies have relied on their extraction from membranes using detergents, which have the potential to perturbate their structure and dynamics.

Physical Exercise as a Nonpharmacological Intervention for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Persons With Dementia: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are prevalent in dementia and affect both patients and caregivers in multiple ways. Because of the complications of drug treatments, nonpharmacological interventions, such as exercise, are of particular value. This study aimed to investigate the effect of exercise on the NPS of dementia and draw recommendations for the disease management.

Development and validation of the Montreal cognitive assessment for people with hearing impairment (MoCA-H).

Background: Hearing impairment is common among older adults and affects cognitive assessments for identification of dementia which rely on good hearing function. We developed and validated a version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) for people with hearing impairment.

Methods: We adapted existing MoCA 8.