Low pre-ART CD4 count is associated with increased risk of clinical progression or death even after reaching 500 CD4 cells/μL on ART.

Introduction: Clinical disadvantages of initiating ART at low CD4 counts have been clearly demonstrated but whether any excess risk remains even after reaching relatively high/safe CD4 levels remains unclear. We explore whether individuals starting ART with <500 CD4 cells/μL who increased their CD4 count above this level, have, from this point onwards, similar risk of clinical progression to serious AIDS/non-AIDS events or death with individuals starting ART with ≥500 CD4 cells/μL.

Methods: Data were derived from a multicenter cohort (AMACS).

Evaluation of Kidney Donor Risk Index/Kidney Donor Profile Index as Predictor Tools of Deceased-Donor Kidney Transplant Outcomes in a Greek Cohort.

The Kidney Donor Risk Index (KDRI) and Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) have been developed to assess deceased-donor graft quality, although validation of their utility outside the USA remains limited. This single-center retrospective cohort study evaluated the ability of KDRI and KDPI to predict transplant outcomes in a Greek cohort. The efficacy of KDRI, KDPI, and donor's age in predicting death-censored graft failure was primarily assessed.

Blind spot enlargement: A differential diagnosis challenge.

A 39-year-old woman, without any systemic or ocular history, presented with a paracentral scotoma in her right eye with normal visual acuity. Humphrey's visual fields showed a reversible enlargement of the right blind spot. The final diagnosis was acute idiopathic blind spot enlargement which was successfully treated with intravenous steroids.

Hertel Exophthalmometry Values in a Greek Adult Outpatient Clinic-Based Population: Association With Demographic Factors and Systemic Disease.

Purpose: To investigate correlations of exophthalmometry values (EVs) with age, gender, and the presence of diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, and dyslipidemia.

Methods: In a cross-sectional, clinic-based study, consecutive adult Greek patients presenting for evaluation at the outpatient general clinic on a scheduled appointment basis at a tertiary care referral center were submitted to Hertel exophthalmometry in both eyes by the same observer. Subjects with signs of history or orbital pathology, including thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy, were excluded.

Advances in the Management of Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction; The Role of SGLT2is, ARNI, Myotropes, Vericiguat, and Anti-inflammatory Agents: A Mini-review.

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) has been associated with poor prognosis, reduced quality of life, and increased healthcare expenditure. Despite tremendous advances in HFrEF management, reduced survival and a high rate of hospitalization remain unsolved issues. Furthermore, HFrEF morbidity and economic burden are estimated to increase in the following years; hence, new therapies are constantly emerging.

The Effects of Aerobic and Resistance Exercises on the Cognitive and Physical Function of Persons with Mild Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol.

Dementia causes deterioration in cognitive and physical functions. The scope of this study is to investigate the effect of different exercise programs on cognitive functions and functionality of persons suffering from mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) by generating information on the exercise types and their parameters. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be performed involving aerobic and resistance exercise interventions, taking place both at the sample collection center and at home.

Evaluation of the Quality of Life and the Quality of Sleep of postmenopausal osteoporotic women, without evidence of an osteoporotic fracture, who attended an outpatient DXA scan service.

Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate whether impairment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and possibly, the quality of sleep (Sleep Quality - SQ), of osteoporotic women, may occur, even before the onset of an osteoporotic fracture.

Methods: The study included 109 women, divided (DXA) into two groups (age-matched): the Control Group (n=68; normal and osteopenic) and the Patient Group (n=41; osteoporotic). Review of medical history of the participants, was followed by evaluation of HRQOL and SQ with the EQ-5D-3L and the PSQI questionnaires, respectively.

Introduction of Alternative Proteins for Health Professionals' Diet: The Transtheoretical Model and Motivational Interviewing of Nutritional Interventions.

The World Health Organization has documented the impact that a balanced diet has on disease prevention. Overconsumption of meat can lead to obesity, arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, type 2 diabetes and many life-threatening diseases. A new group of proteins has currently emerged in the scientific community of alternative nutrition called "alternative proteins".

T cell receptor gene repertoire profiles in subgroups of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia bearing distinct genomic aberrations.

Background: Microenvironmental interactions of the malignant clone with T cells are critical throughout the natural history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Indeed, clonal expansions of T cells and shared clonotypes exist between different CLL patients, strongly implying clonal selection by antigens. Moreover, immunogenic neoepitopes have been isolated from the clonotypic B cell receptor immunoglobulin sequences, offering a rationale for immunotherapeutic approaches.

Quality metrics in the management of acute stroke in Greece during the first 5 years of Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q) implementation.

Introduction: Establishment of a prospective stroke registry may promote the documentation and improvement of acute stroke care. We present the status of stroke management in Greece using the Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q) dataset.

Methods: Consecutive patients with acute stroke were prospectively registered in RES-Q registry by contributing sites in Greece during the years 2017-2021.

The Choroid after Half-Dose Photodynamic Therapy in Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy.

Purpose: To characterize choroidal structure and vasculature after half-dose verteporfin photodynamic therapy (hd-vPDT) in eyes with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy using Enhanced Depth Imaging Optical Coherence Tomography (EDI OCT) and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCT-A).

Methods: This prospective case-control study included 10 eyes. Choroid was examined before and at 1 month following hd-vPDT.

International multicenter survey on screening and confirmatory testing in primary aldosteronism.

Objective: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is one of the most frequent causes of secondary hypertension. Although clinical practice guidelines recommend a diagnostic process, details of the steps remain incompletely standardized.

Design: In the present SCOT-PA survey, we have investigated the diversity of approaches utilized for each diagnostic step in different expert centers through a survey using Google questionnaires.

Relationship between breakthrough cancer pain, background cancer pain and analgesic treatment - case series and review of the literature.

The assessment and treatment of breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP) remain a major challenge in medicine due to its high impact on several aspects of health-related quality of life. BTcP should be carefully monitored in all cancer care settings by a multidisciplinary team to provide an appropriate and personalized clinical approach. The aim of this paper is to provide healthcare professionals involved in cancer pain management with a review of the relevant literature on the relationship between background cancer pain and BTcP which, by definition, occurs despite adequately controlled background cancer pain.

Scleroderma specific autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren's syndrome patients with interstitial lung disease: Prevalence and associations.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) has been classically linked to interstitial lung disease (ILD) development, often in association with specific SSc autoantibodies. In the present report, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of SSc autoantibodies in 60 seropositive RA and 41 primary SS patients complicated or not by ILD. SSc autoantibodies were determined in patients' sera by a commercial immunoblot assay.

Efficacy and safety of early soluble urokinase plasminogen receptor plasma-guided anakinra treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia: A subgroup analysis of the SAVE-MORE randomised trial.

Background: The SAVE-MORE trial demonstrated that anakinra treatment in COVID-19 pneumonia with plasma soluble urokinase plasminogen activator (suPAR) levels of 6 ng/mL or more was associated with 0.36 odds for a worse outcome compared to placebo when expressed by the WHO-Clinical Progression Scale (CPS) at day 28. Herein, we report the results of subgroup analyses and long-term outcomes.

The Large Hellenic Study of Uveitis: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Algorithms, Complications, and Final Outcome.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present the diagnostic and therapeutic algorithms, complications, and final outcome in the management of uveitic patients at a tertiary academic referral center.

Design: Observational study.

Methods: Analysis of the archives of 6191 uveitic patients at the Ocular Inflammation Service of the Department of Ophthalmology of the University Hospital of Ioannina in Greece from 1991 to 2020.

Interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10) for the early prognosis of the risk for severe respiratory failure and death in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Objectives: Elevated concentrations of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) predict progression to severe respiratory failure (SRF) or death among patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and guide early anakinra treatment. As suPAR testing may not be routinely available in every health-care setting, alternative biomarkers are needed. We investigated the performance of C-reactive protein (CRP), interferon gamma-induced protein-10 (IP-10) and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) for predicting SRF or death in COVID-19.

An Approach to Identify HLA Class II Immunogenic Epitopes in the Greek Population through Machine Learning Algorithms.

Current pre-transplantation routine matching involves serum anti-HLA antibodies quantification but cannot always preclude unfavorable graft outcomes. Epitope-based matching is proposed as a more precise approach, but to date no epitope-matching algorithm provides a satisfactory predictive tool for transplantation outcomes. In this study, anti-HLA-II loci responses from 1748 patients were analyzed with unsupervised machine learning algorithms, namely principal component analysis (PCA) and antigenic distances, projected as dendrograms.

Efficacy and safety of endoscopic drainage of peripancreatic fluid collections: a retrospective multicenter European study.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided transmural drainage allows treatment of symptomatic peripancreatic fluid collections (PFCs), with lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) and double pigtail plastic stents (DPPS) being the 2 most frequently used modalities.

Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing PFC drainage in 10 European centers were retrospectively retrieved. Technical success (successful deployment), clinical success (satisfactory drainage), rate and type of early adverse events, drainage duration and complications on stent removal were evaluated.

Choroidal thickness in patients with systemic arterial hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The global burden of hypertension is constantly increasing with adverse cardiovascular and ocular sequelae. The association between elevated blood pressure and choroidal thickness (CT), as assessed via optical coherence tomography (OCT), is poorly understood.

Objectives And Design: Studies including hypertensive adults and normotensive controls undergoing OCT were evaluated for inclusion in this meta-analysis.

Association of Pathology Markers with Somatostatin Analogue Responsiveness in Acromegaly.

Background: Somatotroph adenomas (SAs) exhibit a variable responsiveness to somatostatin analogue (SS-a) treatment, a process that is not well understood. We investigated established and novel histological markers as predictors of SS-a responsiveness.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated pathology samples from 36 acromegalic patients that underwent transsphenoidal surgery.