Moderate to Severe Osteoarthritis: What is the Economic Burden for Patients and the Health Care System? Insights from the "PONOS" Study.

Objective: To assess the economic burden of moderate to severe osteoarthritis (OA) management for patients and the health care system in Greece.

Design: A noninterventional, cross-sectional, prospective, epidemiological analysis of data from the medical records of patients with moderate to severe OA, recruited in a single visit from 9 sites in Greece. Outcomes included health care resource use (direct/indirect costs) associated with this patient population.

The impact of moderate to severe osteoarthritis on the physical performance and quality of life: a cross-sectional study in Greek patients (PONOS study).

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) represents a leading cause of disability with limited data available for the Greek patients.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of moderate to severe symptomatic hip/knee OA under treatment on physical performance and quality of life.

Methods: A non-interventional, cross-sectional, epidemiological study of patients with moderate/severe OA, recruited in a single visit from 9 expert sites in Athens, Greece.

Right drug, wrong dosage: insights from the PAVE-AF antithrombotic study in older patients with atrial fibrillation.

Optimal antithrombotic treatment of older patients is usually impeded by several prevailing misconceptions. The aim of our study was to assess the type, dosage and predictors of antithrombotic therapy in older patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). PAVE-AF was a prospective, cross-sectional study, including NVAF patients ≥ 80 years from 30 participating centers.

Increased detection of suspected atrial fibrillation in elderly and female hypertensive patients through home blood pressure monitoring: the HOME-AF study.

Background: Episodes of suspected atrial fibrillation are particularly frequent in essential hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of new suspected atrial fibrillation cases detected through home blood pressure (BP) screening among hypertensive patients. Association of new suspected atrial fibrillation cases with arterial hypertension (AH) phenotypes and the CHA2DS2-VASc score was also investigated.

Cost Effectiveness of Apixaban versus Warfarin or Aspirin for Stroke Prevention in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Greek Perspective.

Background: Strokes attributed to atrial fibrillation (AF) represent a major cause of adult disability and a great burden to society and healthcare systems.

Objectives: Our objective was to assess the cost effectiveness of apixaban, a direct acting oral anticoagulant (DOAC), versus warfarin or aspirin for patients with AF in the Greek healthcare setting.

Methods: We used a previously published Markov model to simulate clinical events for patients with AF treated with apixaban, the vitamin K antagonist (VKA) warfarin, or aspirin.

Ankle-brachial index long-term outcome after first-ever ischaemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Ankle-brachial blood pressure index (ABI) is a clinical tool to identify the presence of peripheral artery disease. There is a scarcity of data associating ABI with long-term outcome in patients with IS. The association between ABI and long-term outcome in patients with first-ever acute IS was assessed.

Linezolid is associated with serotonin syndrome in a patient receiving amitriptyline, and fentanyl: a case report and review of the literature.

We report a unique case of an adverse interaction between the oxazolidinone antibiotic linezolid, the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline and the opioid analgesic fentanyl in a 68-year-old woman with advanced ischemic peripheral arterial disease and sepsis, under empirical antibiotic treatment. We also summarize the current relevant literature as identified via PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycINFO as well as reference sections of selected articles.

The type of atrial fibrillation is associated with long-term outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Background/objectives: We aimed to investigate the association between the type of atrial fibrillation (AF) and long-term outcome in terms of mortality and stroke recurrence in patients with ischemic stroke and non-valvular AF.

Methods: All consecutive patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke to Alexandra Hospital between 1993 and 2010 were included in the analysis. Patients were categorized in 3 groups according to the type of AF (paroxysmal, persistent, and permanent) and were followed up for up to 10 years after the index stroke or until death.

Estradiol levels predict short-term adverse health outcomes in postmenopausal acute stroke women.

Background: Data on the role of endogenous sex steroids in cerebrovascular disease are sparse. Estradiol is a hormone with diverse actions on the central nervous system. Our aim was to investigate the role of circulating estradiol levels in a postmenopausal acute stroke population.

Prevalence of atrial fibrillation in Greece: the Arcadia Rural Study on Atrial Fibrillation.

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major factor for stroke and stroke-associated mortality, and its incidence is increasing during the last decades. There are only scarce data about its prevalence in Greece. We designed an epidemiological cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of AF in Greece and evaluate the adequacy of anticoagulant treatment in AF patients.

Stroke aetiology and predictors of outcome in patients with heart failure and acute stroke: a 10-year follow-up study.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate stroke aetiology and assess the predictors of early and late outcome in patients with heart failure (HF) and acute stroke.

Methods And Results: A total of 2904 patients, admitted between 1993 and 2010, were regularly followed up at months 1, 3, and 6, and yearly thereafter up to 10 years. There were 283 (9.

Long-term outcome in posterior cerebral artery stroke.

Introduction:   Previous studies on posterior cerebral artery (PCA) strokes focused mainly on topography and underlying pathophysiology. However, there are no data on long-term prognosis and its association with the localization of the infarct.

Methods:   All consecutive PCA strokes registered in the Athens Stroke Outcome Project between 01/1998 and 12/2009 were included in the analysis.

Burkitt's lymphoma in pregnancy with bilateral breast involvement: case report with review of the literature.

Background: Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) in pregnancy presenting with breast involvement is a rare clinical entity, and only 13 cases have been reported so far.

Case Report: We describe the case of a 28-year-old postpartum woman who presented with markedly enlarged breasts caused by BL. She was treated with 8 cycles of the CALGB 10002 regimen, as well as with irradiation to both breasts.

Increased expression of bFGF is associated with carotid atherosclerotic plaques instability engaging the NF-κB pathway.

Unstable atherosclerotic plaques of the carotid arteries are at great risk for the development of ischemic cerebrovascular events. The degradation of the extracellular matrix by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and NO-induced apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) contribute to the vulnerability of the atherosclerotic plaques. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) through its mitogenic and angiogenic properties has already been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

Paraneoplastic humorally mediated hypercalcemia induced by parathyroid hormone-related protein in gynecologic malignancies: a systematic review.

Humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) is a metabolic phenomenon that is mediated by the paraneoplastic secretion of parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP). Gynecologic malignant neoplasms complicated by HHM have been reported for organs such as the uterus, cervix, ovary, vulva and the vagina. The purpose of our study was to perform a review of the published cases in the literature and, further, to identify parameters with effect on outcome.

Hypomethylation of retrotransposable elements correlates with genomic instability in non-small cell lung cancer.

LINE-1 and Alu elements are non-LTR retrotransposons, constituting together over 30% of the human genome and they are frequently hypomethylated in human tumors. A relationship between global hypomethylation and genomic instability has been shown, however, there is little evidence to suggest active role for hypomethylation-mediated reactivation of retroelements in human cancer. In our study, we examined by Pyrosequencing the methylation levels of LINE-1 and Alu sequences in 48 primary nonsmall cell carcinomas and their paired adjacent tissues.

Acute doxorubicin cardiotoxicity is successfully treated with the phytochemical oleuropein through suppression of oxidative and nitrosative stress.

Oleuropein (oleu) is a natural phenolic antioxidant, which is present in elevated concentration in olives, olive oil and olive tree leaves. Doxorubicin (DXR) induced cardiotoxicity is mainly induced by oxidative stress but the precise mechanism remains obscure. However, there is evidence that high concentration of nitric oxide (NO) occurring as a result of iNOS induction and peroxynitrite formation may be involved in DXR cardiotoxicity.