Targeting the epigenome in malignant melanoma: Facts, challenges and therapeutic promises.

Malignant melanoma is the most lethal type of skin cancer with high rates of mortality. Although current treatment options provide a short-clinical benefit, acquired-drug resistance highlights the low 5-year survival rate among patients with advanced stage of the disease. In parallel, the involvement of an aberrant epigenetic landscape, (e.

Use of Edible, Medicinal, and Aromatic Plants in Various Health Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation among Inhabitants in the Area of Thrace, North-Eastern Greece.

Background: Medicinal and aromatical plants (MAPs) have been historically used as traditional remedies in many cultures in Europe and globally. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of MAPs in various health disorders in association to dietary habits and other lifestyle factors among residents in Thrace, NE Greece.

Methods: Data were collected through anonymous and voluntary responses to a structured online questionnaire, via convenience (snowball) sampling.

The emotional burden of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on medical students in Greece.

Everyday human life has recently been affected worldwide by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Medical students were found to be a vulnerable population, facing many challenges with the temporary suspension of clinical activities, as well as their confrontation with violent changes in their chosen profession. The purpose of the present study is to record and detect possible signs of emotional burden on the psychological profile of northern Greek medical students in the second wave of the European pandemic at the hitherto culmination point.

Investigation of patterns and dynamics of substance users: A long-term toxicology study on a sample of the Greek population between 2005 and 2019.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate dynamics underlying drug abuse and identify statistical correlations/patterns of forensic findings and sociodemographic factors in a population of illicit substance users. The following long-term studies were conducted: (a) a retrospective autopsy cohort study on autopsy incidents with available toxicological screening results (N = 482) in investigation of any possible forensic associations of exposure to illicit drugs; and (b) a cross-sectional study on a sample of arrested drug law offenders with available toxicological screening results (N = 195) as well as cluster analysis in order to possibly identify user profiles. Although outside the scope of the present study, ethanol was generally considered to be the main substance of abuse, as more than half of the premature deaths reported tested positive on the ethanol toxicology screen.

Comparison of Two Tubularized Incised Plate Urethroplasty Techniques in Hypospadias Reconstructive Surgery.

Background: Hypospadias repair is a challenging type of urogenital reconstructive surgery for which different techniques are currently used. The purpose of this study is to determine the outcomes of distal, mid-shaft and proximal hypospadias repair using two new variations of tubularized incised plate (TIP) urethroplasty (TIP-δ and TIP-ελ) and to compare their complication rates with other already known operative techniques made from the same surgical team.

Methods: This study included 269 boys with hypospadias.

Gender Differences in Short-term Memory Related to Music Genres.

The purpose of the present research was to examine whether different music settings could influence one's cognitive function - particularly memory. The examined sample consisted of 168 college students with a male:female ratio of 1:2.2.

Predictive model of heterotopy in Meckel's diverticulum in children.

Background: The presence of heterotopic tissue in Meckel's diverticulum (MD) increases the incidence of future complications. Based on this concept, this study aimed to detect clinical and morphological parameters able to predict the probability of heterotopy in incidentally discovered uncomplicated MD and to develop a risk-based classification tool.

Methods: The clinical records of 146 patients who underwent MD resection were reviewed.

Identification of children and adolescents at risk for renal scarring after a first urinary tract infection: a meta-analysis with individual patient data.

Importance: No studies have systematically examined the accuracy of clinical, laboratory, and imaging variables in detecting renal scarring in children and adolescents with a first urinary tract infection.

Objectives: To identify independent prognostic factors for the development of renal scarring and to combine these factors in prediction models that could be useful in clinical practice.

Data Sources: MEDLINE and EMBASE.

Local peritonitis as the first manifestation of Crohn's disease in a child.

Crohn's disease (CD) can occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus and sometimes it presents in a nonspecific manner. Herein we describe a case of local peritonitis as the first manifestation of CD in an 11-year-old girl, and the subsequent method of treatment.

Testicular dysmorphism in infantile abdominoscrotal hydrocele: insights into etiology.

Testicular dysmorphism (TD) associated with infantile abdominoscrotal hydrocele (ASH) may be due to the pressure effect of hydrocele on the testis or may be a developmental abnormality. Only a few reports are referred to the etiology of testicular changes in infantile ASH. We present an additional case of infantile ASH together with a review of the literature, focusing on insights into etiology of TD and its appropriate management.

The use of a perimeatal-based penile skin flap to cover the repair of a tubularized incised plate urethroplasty: from experimental surgery to clinical practice.

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of a perimeatal-based penile skin flap for neourethral coverage after repair of distal hypospadias with tubularized incised plate urethroplasty (TIPU).

Methods: In 12 New Zealand white rabbits a ventral urethral defect was created and reconstruction was accomplished with continuous suture. An epithelialized defect-based flap was harvested from the penile skin to cover the repaired defect.

The role of calprotectin in pediatric disease.

Calprotectin (CP) is a calcium- and zinc-binding protein of the S100 family expressed mainly by neutrophils with important extracellular activity. The aim of the current review is to summarize the latest findings concerning the role of CP in a diverse range of inflammatory and noninflammatory conditions among children. Increasing evidence suggests the implication of CP in the diagnosis, followup, assessment of relapses, and response to treatment in pediatric pathological conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, necrotizing enterocolitis, celiac disease, intestinal cystic fibrosis, acute appendicitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Kawasaki disease, polymyositis-dermatomyositis, glomerulonephritis, IgA nephropathy, malaria, HIV infection, hyperzincemia and hypercalprotectinemia, and cancer.

Single-trocar transumbilical laparoscopy-assisted management of complicated jejunal diverticula.

Small-intestinal nonmeckelian diverticula are very uncommon and are considered to be acquired pulsion diverticula. Most of these diverticula are asymptomatic and are simply incidental findings. Complicated-acquired diverticular disease of the jejunum and ileum is a diagnostic dilemma.

Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein: a potential marker of febrile urinary tract infection in childhood.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are encountered frequently in children, and their early diagnosis and treatment are important. This study evaluates the diagnostic value of serum concentrations of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), an acute-phase protein, in children with febrile UTI and compares it to those of the total white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and interleukin-6 (IL-6).

Methods: The study population comprised 77 consecutive patients with a first-episode febrile UTI (33 boys) with a median age of 11 months [interquartile range (IQR), 5.

Long-term angiogenic activity of free grafts and pedicle flap in a rabbit urethroplasty model.

Purpose: We studied the late angiogenic activity of free grafts and a pedicle flap in a rabbit urethroplasty model to determine whether angiogenic activity plays a role in late outcomes of urethral reconstruction in rabbits.

Methods: Twenty-eight rabbits were randomly divided into five groups according to the method used to bridge a urethral defect as an onlay patch: Control, simple closure of urethral defect (Group O1); free penile skin graft (FPSG, Group A1); buccal mucosal graft (BuMG, Group B1); bladder mucosal graft (BlMG, Group C1); and pedicle penile skin flap (PPSF, Group D1). Angiogenic activity of the patch on postoperative day 84 was assessed by immunohistochemistry.

Acute appendicitis in preschoolers: a study of two different populations of children.

Objective: To assess the incidence and the risk factors implicated in acute appendicitis in preschoolers in our region.

Methods: Over a 7-year period, 352 children underwent appendectomy for suspected acute appendicitis. Of these, data for 23 children were excluded because no inflammation of the appendix was found on subsequent histology.

Acute poisoning among children admitted to a regional university hospital in Northern Greece.

Objectives: The aim of our study was to elucidate the current pattern of acute poisoning among children admitted to a regional University Hospital in the prefecture of Evros in Northern Greece. We also compared the obtained findings with those of two previous studies performed in the same region.

Methods: Demographic and clinical data, management, and outcome of children with acute poisoning were recorded in our region, during the past 5-years (2005-2009, period C) and compared to similar studies carried out in the periods 1985-1989 (period A) and 1995-1999 (period B).

Optimal timing for repair of an inguinal hernia in premature infants.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the optimal timing for inguinal herniotomy in premature infants treated in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Methods: A two-institutional-center retrospective study was performed including 41 prematures at gestational age 28-35 weeks who underwent herniotomy within 1 week of diagnosis [short-waiting group (SWG), median 5 days, n = 25] or more than 1 week after diagnosis [long-waiting group (LWG), median 30.55 days, n = 16].

Congenital anomalies of the gastrointestinal tract diagnosed in adulthood--diagnosis and management.

Introduction: Congenital anomalies of the gastrointestinal tract are a significant cause of morbidity in children and less frequently in adults. In rare cases, they may run undetected during childhood and may present during adolescence. These abnormalities include developmental obstructive defects of the duodenum and the small intestine, anomalies of rotation and fixation, intestinal duplications, and anomalies of the colon and rectum.