Publications by authors named "Vasiliki-Sofia Grech"

The interplay between nutrition and skin health provides a crucial lens for understanding, diagnosing, and managing eating disorders (EDs) such as anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge-eating disorder (BED). This review explores the dermatological manifestations resulting from the nutritional deficiencies commonly associated with EDs, including conditions like hair loss, xerosis, and brittle nails. These changes in the skin and its appendages often reflect deeper systemic dysfunctions, such as deficiencies in essential micronutrients (zinc, iron, and vitamins A and C), hormonal imbalances, and electrolyte disturbances.

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As the global population ages, the rising prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by abnormal protein aggregates, presents significant challenges for early diagnosis and disease monitoring. Identifying accessible tissue biomarkers is crucial for advancing our ability to detect and track the progression of these diseases. Among the most promising biomarkers is the skin, which shares a common embryological origin with the brain and central nervous system (CNS).

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People diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD) might represent a high-risk subpopulation for New Psychoactive Drugs (NPS) consumption, and hair analysis offers a unique perspective to assess drug prevalence in this population. The present study aims to assess the prevalence of NPS and their co-consumption with traditional drugs of abuse (DoA) in individuals diagnosed with SUD. Hair samples from patients under care at the addiction treatment service of Bologna, Italy, for a diagnosed SUD, were collected during 2023 and analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS), using a previously validated method.

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Purpose: Dietary macronutrients significantly impact cardiometabolic health, yet research often focuses on individual macronutrient relationships. This study aimed to explore the associations between dietary macronutrient composition and cardiometabolic health.

Methods: This study included 33,681 US adults (49.

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Article Synopsis
  • Stroke is a leading cause of serious health issues and death globally, and this study in Malta aimed to assess public knowledge about strokes to identify areas that could delay treatment.
  • A mixed methods approach involved qualitative interviews with stroke patients and surveys distributed to a broad segment of the Maltese population and healthcare workers, revealing significant knowledge gaps about stroke symptoms and responses.
  • The results indicated that education level and demographics influenced stroke knowledge, with targeted educational initiatives recommended to improve awareness and response, especially among vulnerable groups like older adults and rural residents.
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Hearing loss is the most common sensory impairment globally and can affect all ages. It can be classified into two categories, conductive and sensorineural, though both conditions may coexist. Various causes may be responsible for hearing loss including congenital, infectious, inflammatory and neoplastic.

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Silicone breast implants are common but may be associated with a number of complications including implant rupture. This case reports a 38-year-old woman with bilateral breast implants who presented with breast unevenness, triggering a cascade of investigations that identified implant rupture. A computed tomography scan of the thorax showed subpleural enhancing nodules in the left lung of equal density as the implants, repeat computed tomography thorax months later showed no interval changes.

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Ocean ecosystems have been subjected to anthropogenic influences for centuries, but the scale of past ecosystem changes is often unknown. For centuries, the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis), an ecosystem engineer providing biogenic reef habitats, was a culturally and economically significant source of food and trade. These reef habitats are now functionally extinct, and almost no memory of where or at what scales this ecosystem once existed, or its past form, remains.

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Background: Addressing individuals with a disability can entail the use of person-first (person with a disability) or identity-first language (disabled person). However, there has been debate about use of these terms, yet there is a lack of evidence to inform preference across people with a broad range of health conditions, demographics, or health related factors.

Methods: A 42-item survey measuring demographic and health condition factors, implicit and explicit preference for person-first and identity-first language use was open for completion by individuals with a self-reported health condition between July 7, 2021 and November 30, 2021.

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Accurate diagnosis of mood disorders, particularly depression and bipolar disorder, is essential for effective treatment planning and patient management. This article emphasizes the need for systematic symptom assessment and longitudinal analysis in facilitating the precise diagnosis and planning appropriate treatment interventions. By meticulously evaluating the symptomatology and delineating the longitudinal trajectory of the illness, clinicians can distinguish between unipolar depression and bipolar disorder, and therefore optimise patient outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Schizophrenia is a complex disorder with varied symptom trajectories that significantly affect patient outcomes; studying these trajectories can help assess treatment options and results.
  • The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) can be used repeatedly in clinical settings to measure symptom changes over time, highlighting the importance of longitudinal studies in understanding these trajectories.
  • Research shows variability in positive symptom trajectories, with some patients experiencing remission while others have persistent symptoms; negative symptoms generally show limited improvement and are linked to poorer social and cognitive functioning, all of which affect overall treatment effectiveness.
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Background And Objectives: The UK provided guidance for general practitioners (GPs) to deliver essential care services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our objective was to describe local GP experiences and approaches to delivering care while similar formal guidance in Australia was unavailable.

Method: Two hundred and ninety-one GPs who practised during the March 2020 to December 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney undertook an electronic survey exploring perceptions of essential care service delivery.

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  • The incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is increasing, highlighting the need for early diagnosis and reliable biomarkers that can be easily detected through standardized methods.
  • The study measured levels of specific miRNAs in extracellular vesicles (EVs) from blood plasma of PTC patients and found higher levels compared to benign goiter controls, with levels decreasing post-thyroidectomy.
  • The findings suggest that these miRNAs in EVs could serve as promising biomarkers for PTC, offering a less invasive alternative to traditional biopsy methods through liquid biopsy.
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Objectives: The sex ratio at birth (SRB), calculated as male divided by total live births, is an important indicator of population health. Typically, male live births slightly outnumber female live births. Population events, including pandemics, can alter the SRB, with effects sometimes evident 9 months post-event, potentially due to changes in sexual behavior and/or stress levels.

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Crisis Resolution Home Treatment (CRHT) teams have become a widespread alternative to psychiatric hospitalisation. Despite their popularisation, Malta has only recently introduced a CRHT team. The aims of the current study were to investigate (i) patient characteristics, (ii) factors influencing patients' length of follow-up (LoFU) and (iii) predictors of clinical outcomes.

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Introduction: The sex ratio at birth (male/total births, M/T) is expected to approximate 0.515. M/T is influenced by many factors including stress.

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Skin cancer is the most common malignancy worldwide and the auricle is particularly vulnerable to the effects of cumulative sun exposure. Reconstruction of auricular defects after skin cancer excision remains a vexing surgical challenge owing to the complex three-dimensional- anatomy of the external ear, particularly in the conchal bowl. The postauricular island "revolving door" flap is a reliable single-stage method for reconstructing anterior auricular and conchal defects.

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A 56-year-old male presented with a longstanding, gradually enlarging, painful, skin lesion over the natal cleft. This was initially thought to be a pilonidal abscess but, following multiple surgeries, he was diagnosed with Stage IVb squamous cell carcinoma of the natal cleft skin with bilateral inguinal lymph node metastases and subcutaneous metastatic deposits. Complete surgical cure was not possible.

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Objective: Diet quality is important for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but conflicting online information causes them confusion. People with MS want evidence-based MS-specific information to help them make healthy dietary changes, and we co-designed an asynchronous, online nutrition education program (Eating Well with MS) with the MS community. Our aim was to determine the feasibility of Eating Well with MS.

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Aims: Reduced left atrial PITX2 is associated with atrial cardiomyopathy and atrial fibrillation (AF). PITX2 is restricted to left atrial cardiomyocytes (aCMs) in the adult heart. The links between PITX2 deficiency, atrial cardiomyopathy, and AF are not fully understood.

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Background: Brain tumors are a leading cause of mortality in children. Accurate tumor grading is essential to plan treatment and for prognostication. Perfusion imaging has been shown to correlate well with tumor grade in adults, however there are fewer studies in pediatric patients.

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We present a rare case of a 40-year-old nulliparous lady, with no past medical or surgical history, who was diagnosed with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the right ovary that originated from a mature cystic ovarian teratoma. Our patient underwent debulking total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and partial omentectomy followed by postoperative carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy. Rapid disease progression ensued, complicated by severe parathyroid hormone-related protein-induced hypercalcaemia resistant to medical therapy.

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Background: Sleep quality is affected by a plethora of different factors, although its relationship with chronic diseases is still unclear. This study explored perceived sleep quality and its associated determinants among the adult population of Malta. A cross-sectional study.

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In recent years, the immense potential for MEMS devices in the biomedical industry has been understood. It has been determined that, among their many plausible functions, their use may also extend to single human red blood cell diagnostics, whereby biomarkers of quantifiable magnitudes may be detected. Without a doubt, the mechanical and thermal specifications by which potential devices must be able to function are very strict.

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