Cardiovascular disease in women: Executive summary of the expert panel statement of women in cardiology of the hellenic cardiological society.

The perception that women represent a low-risk population for cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) needs to be reconsidered. Starting from risk factors, women are more likely to be susceptible to unhealthy behaviors and risk factors that have different impact on CV morbidity and mortality as compared to men. Despite the large body of evidence as regards the effect of lifestyle factors on the CVD onset, the gender-specific effect of traditional and non-traditional risk factors on the prognosis of patients with already established CVD has not been well investigated and understood.

Leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein 1, high mobility group box 1, matrix metalloproteinase 3 and annexin A1 as biomarkers of ulcerative colitis endoscopic and histological activity.

Objective: The LRG, HMGB1, MMP3 and ANXA1 proteins have been implicated in different inflammatory pathways in ulcerative colitis (UC), but their role as specific biomarkers of both endoscopic and histological activity has yet to be elucidated. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the LRG1, HMGB1, MMP3 and ANXA1 as potential serum biomarkers for UC endoscopic and histological activity.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included UC patients under 5-ASA, and healthy controls (HC) undergoing colonoscopy.

The Interplay between Mucosal Microbiota Composition and Host Gene-Expression is Linked with Infliximab Response in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Even though anti-TNF therapy significantly improves the rates of remission in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, there is a noticeable subgroup of patients who do not respond to treatment. Dysbiosis emerges as a key factor in IBD pathogenesis. The aim of the present study is to profile changes in the gut microbiome and transcriptome before and after administration of the anti-TNF agent Infliximab (IFX) and investigate their potential to predict patient response to IFX at baseline.

Cardiovascular risk factors in HIV infected individuals: Comparison with general adult control population in Greece.

Background: Although combined antiretroviral therapy has substantially improved the prognosis of people living with HIV (PLHIV), mortality remains higher compared to the general population, mainly due to higher prevalence of non-HIV-related comorbidities, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD). We assessed the prevalence of CVD risk and its contributing factors in adult PLHIV versus general population controls in Greece.

Settings: Cross-sectional comparison of PLHIV (Athens-Multicenter-AIDS-Cohort-Study; AMACS) versus general population controls (National health examination survey; EMENO).

Novel potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with ulcerative colitis.

Unambiguously, great progress has been achieved in the unraveling of more pathological pathways implicated in the development and progression of ulcerative colitis during the last decades. Novel effective drugs that have augmented the management armamentarium have been developed alongside this growing comprehension of the disease, rendering mucosal healing not only a feasible but the optimal goal of every therapy. Clinical evaluation, colonoscopy and biomarkers are the tools used by practitioners for the diagnosis and assessment of the status of the disease in order to achieve clinical remission and mucosal healing for their patients.

Cytolytic activity correlates with the mutational burden and deregulated expression of immune checkpoints in colorectal cancer.

Background: Microsatellite unstable colorectal cancers (MSI+ CRCs) expressing PD-L1, respond to anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 checkpoint blockade, whereas microsatellite-stable tumors do not respond the same. Our aim was to examine how the immune landscape relates to different aspects of the CRC's biology, including neoepitope burden.

Methods: We used TCGA data to stratify patients based on a cytolytic T-cell activity expression index and correlated immune cytolytic activity (CYT) with mutational, structural, and neoepitope features of each tumor sample.

Immunosuppressive regimens based on Cyclophospamide or Calcineurin inhibitors: Comparison of their effect in the long term outcome of Primary Membranous Nephropathy.

Introduction: Management of the Primary Membranous Nephropathy (PMN) usually involves administration of immunosuppressives. Cyclophosphamide (Cyclo) and Calcineurin Inhibitors (CNIs) are both widely used but only limited data exist to compare their efficacy in long term follow-up.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to estimate and compare long term effects of Cyclo and CNIs in patients with PMN.

Long-term evolution of CD4+ cell count in patients under combined antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: Combined antiretroviral treatment (cART) results in profound immunologic improvement, but it is unclear whether CD4 cell counts return to levels similar to those of HIV-negative individuals. We explore long-term CD4 cell count evolution post-cART and its association with baseline levels, virologic suppression, pre-cART cumulative viremia and other factors.

Design: Data were derived from the AMACS.

The value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in detection of prostatic infarction after prostatic artery embolization for the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Purpose: We aimed to assess the clinical and predictive role of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) as the primary method for imaging evaluation of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) for the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Methods: Thirty-one patients with symptomatic BPH, treated with PAE from October 2016 until February 2018, were enrolled in this prospective, single-center study. Microspheres (100-700 µm) were utilized for PAE.

The HIV patient profile in 2013 and 2003: Results from the Greek AMACS cohort.

Combined Antiretroviral therapy (cART) has improved life-expectancy of people living with HIV (PLHIV) but as they age, prevalence of chronic non-AIDS related comorbidities may increase. We study the evolution of HIV-disease markers and comorbidities' prevalence in PLHIV in Greece. Two cross-sectional analyses (2003 and 2013) on data from the AMACS cohort were performed.

Early post-interventional sonographic evaluation of prostatic artery embolization. A promising role for contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS).

Aims: To assess the feasibility, findings and potential value of early post-interventional, contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic (CEUS) study of prostate artery embolization (PAE).

Material And Methods: Fourteen patients treated with PAE for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia were prospectively included in the study. Sonographic evaluation of the prostate included: 1) baseline transabdominal and transrectal CEUS (ta-CEUS and tr-CEUS, respectively) 1-3 days prior to PAE; 2) early post PAE CEUS, with ta-CEUS immediately post PAE and tr-CEUS 3 days post PAE; and 3) follow-up with ta-CEUS and tr-CEUS 3 months post PAE.

Association of sleep quality and mucosal healing in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in clinical remission.

Background: The interaction between sleep and the immune system has been increasingly studied over the last decades. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between sleep quality and mucosal healing in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) currently in clinical remission.

Methods: Ninety patients with IBD in clinical remission were studied: 54 (60%) with Crohn's disease and 36 (40%) with ulcerative colitis.

Association of miR-146 rs2910164, miR-196a rs11614913, miR-221 rs113054794 and miR-224 rs188519172 polymorphisms with anti-TNF treatment response in a Greek population with Crohn's disease.

Aim: To investigate the correlation between rs2910164, rs11 614913, rs113054794, and rs188519172 polymorphisms and response to anti-TNF treatment in patients with Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: One hundred seven patients with CD based on standard clinical, endoscopic, radiological, and pathological criteria were included in the study. They all received infliximab or adalimumab intravenously or subcutaneously at standard induction doses as per international guidelines.

Commonly Prescribed Antiretroviral Therapy Regimens and Incidence of AIDS-Defining Neurological Conditions.

Background: The differential effects of commonly prescribed combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) regimens on AIDS-defining neurological conditions (neuroAIDS) remain unknown.

Setting: Prospective cohort studies of HIV-positive individuals from Europe and the Americas included in the HIV-CAUSAL Collaboration.

Methods: Individuals who initiated a first-line cART regimen in 2004 or later containing a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor backbone and either atazanavir, lopinavir, darunavir, or efavirenz were followed from cART initiation until death, lost to follow-up, pregnancy, the cohort-specific administrative end of follow-up, or the event of interest, whichever occurred earliest.

The defining a model for antimicrobial stewardship-results from an international cross-sectional survey.

Background: Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) have been promoted to optimize antimicrobial usage and patient outcomes, and to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant organisms. However, the best strategies for an ASP are not definitively established and are likely to vary based on local culture, policy, and routine clinical practice, and probably limited resources in middle-income countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate structures and resources of antimicrobial stewardship teams (ASTs) in surgical departments from different regions of the world.

Solitary Plasmacytoma of the Mesentery: A Systematic Clinician's Diagnosis.

Introduction: Plasmacytoma is an uncommon plasma cell neoplasm and its localized form is solitary plasmacytoma of the bone and solitary extramedullary plasmacytoma. Solitary plasmacytoma of the mesentery is extremely rare, reported only in a handful of cases.

Case Presentation: A 47-year-old man with nonspecific abdominal complains was found to have an ill-defined mass on his mesenteric root.

Increase of circulating endocan over sepsis follow-up is associated with progression into organ dysfunction.

How circulating inflammatory mediators change upon sepsis progression has not been studied. We studied the follow-up changes of circulating vasoactive peptides and cytokines until the improvement or the worsening of a patient and progression into specific organ dysfunctions. In a prospective study, concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, interferon-gamma (IFNγ), endocan and angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) were measured in serum by an enzyme immunoassay in 175 patients at baseline; this was repeated within 24 h upon progression into new organ dysfunction (n = 141) or improvement (n = 34).

Imaging of intrahepatic progression of hepatocellular carcinoma post transarterial chemoembolization. A long-term, prospective evaluation of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS).

Aims: To assess the diagnostic efficacy of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in the context of intrahepatic progression (IHP) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).

Material And Methods: Sixty HCC patients were prospectively included in the study. They were treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE)with doxorubicin-eluting microspheres (231 sessions).

Prognostic Evaluation of Vimentin Expression in Correlation with Ki67 and CD44 in Surgically Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Radical surgical resection with adjuvant chemotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy is the most effective treatment for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, relatively few studies investigate the prognostic significance of biological markers in PDAC. This study aims to look into the expressions of vimentin, Ki67, and CD44 in PDAC surgical specimens and their potential prognostic implications in survival.

Differences in Pain Perception Between Men and Women of Reproductive Age: A Laser-Evoked Potentials Study.

Objective: We investigated differences in pain perception between men and women of reproductive age by using Laser-Evoked Potentials (LEPs).

Design, Setting, Subjects: Forty-four right-handed healthy volunteers (19 males/25 females), aged 30–40 years were studied. A CO2 laser generated three series of 10 thermal pulses (4.

Validation of the new Sepsis-3 definitions: proposal for improvement in early risk identification.

Objectives: Sepsis-3 definitions generated controversies regarding their general applicability. The Sepsis-3 Task Force outlined the need for validation with emphasis on the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score. This was done in a prospective cohort from a different healthcare setting.

Malpingian carcinoma of the urinary bladder: A case series.

Context: Malpingian carcinoma (MC) of the bladder is a rare entity. Although distant metastases are very rare it is, usually, diagnosed in the advanced stage, and most patients die.

Aims: The aim was to reveal the characteristics of this tumor and discuss reasons explaining its particular biological behavior.

Improving outcomes of severe infections by multidrug-resistant pathogens with polyclonal IgM-enriched immunoglobulins.

The emergence of infections by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria, which is accompanied by considerable mortality due to inappropriate therapy, led to the investigation of whether adjunctive treatment with one polyclonal IgM-enriched immunoglobulin preparation (IgGAM) would improve outcomes. One hundred patients in Greece with microbiologically confirmed severe infections by MDR Gram-negative bacteria acquired after admission to the Intensive Care Unit and treated with IgGAM were retrospectively analysed from a large prospective multicentre cohort. A similar number of patient comparators well-matched for stage of sepsis, source of infection, appropriateness of antimicrobials and co-morbidities coming from the same cohort were selected.