Gene Polymorphisms in Greek Primary Breast Cancer Patients.

Background: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with distinct clinical subtypes, categorized by hormone receptor status, which exhibits different prognoses and requires personalized treatment approaches. These subtypes included luminal A and luminal B, which have different prognoses. Breast cancer development and progression involve many factors, including interferon-gamma ().

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided therapies in the treatment of gastric varices: An in-depth examination of associated adverse events.

The Baveno VII consensus, released in 2023, recommends that the endoscopic treatment of choice for managing bleeding gastric varices (GV) is endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided treatment, specifically EUS-guided cyanoacrylate (CYA) glue injection. This approach has been endorsed due to its efficacy in controlling bleeding while reducing rebleeding rates, compared to other endoscopic techniques. Despite its efficacy, CYA injection for GV has been linked to rare but serious adverse events, such as glue embolization leading to pulmonary embolism, infection/bacteremia, splenic infarction, intra-procedural and post-procedural complications.

Affective and Clinical Outcomes Related to Pain After Graded Motor Imagery in Patients With Chronic Shoulder Pain: A Pre-Post-Single-Group Study.

The aim of this study was to assess at 6-month and 1-year follow-up the effect of graded motor imagery (GMI) in addition to usual care on the affective and clinical outcomes in patients with chronic shoulder pain. A pre-post-intervention single-group study was conducted. One hundred forty-eight patients with chronic shoulder pain were included.

Gatekeeping or Provider Choice for Sustainable Health Systems? A Literature Review on Their Impact on Efficiency, Access, and Quality of Services.

As early as 1978, the World Health Organization set primary healthcare as the basis on which health systems should be built worldwide. However, the health systems of the different countries show considerable variations in terms of the implementation of gatekeeping from primary to secondary healthcare and direct access to specialists and hospital care. This literature review attempts to present the gatekeeping system with references to the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany compared to the situation in Greece, where no gatekeeping system exists.

Managing Pharmaceutical Costs in Health Systems: A Review of Affordability, Accessibility and Sustainability Strategies.

Background: This paper reviews cost containment policies to control pharmaceutical expenditure either by regulating the pharmaceutical industry or targeting the demand side.

Methods: The method used was the narrative literature review of studies which assessed the effect of pharmaceutical cost containment policies.

Results: Governments worldwide have implemented a great variety of policy measures to manage pharmaceutical expenditure while ensuring fair access to essential medicines.

Operational Efficiency of Public Hospitals in Greece During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Analysis Using DEA and AHP Models.

This study evaluates the efficiency of public hospitals in Greece during the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Faced with unprecedented pressure from increased demand for medical services, these hospitals had to adapt quickly while playing a crucial role in supporting local economies, similar to the effect of tourism on rural economies. This study reveals that, despite average efficiency scores of 83% for result-oriented models (BCC) and 65% for constant return models (CCR), inefficiencies of scale emerged under the pressures of the pandemic.

Successful Pregnancy in a Poor Responder: Natural In Vitro Fertilization, Menopause Treatment With Oral Contraceptives, and Anti-Müllerian Hormone as a Predictor.

The study focuses on spontaneous conception after menopause in a woman with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), with an emphasis on the role of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in fertility management. This case involves a 33-year-old woman with POI who has experienced both aided and spontaneous pregnancies. She had low AMH and high follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, which typically indicate a limited ovarian reserve.

Paccianon the Neglected Galenic Drug for Ophthalmic Lesions.

The Greco-Roman physician Galen of Pergamon was the first to mention a drug named Paccianon. This drug was unknown in ancient Greece and most probably through the School of Alexandria entered medical literature. Oribasius and Aetius were the only two practitioners who mentioned it after Galen, administrating it in various forms, such as poultice, mixture, and collyrium, for a series of ophthalmic diseases and cutaneous lesions.

HIV Disclosure and Low HIV Stigma in a Gay Serodiscordant Couple: An Interpretative Phenomenological Case Study of the Discloser-Confidant Dynamics.

Introduction HIV stigma levels are high in Greece. HIV stigma hinders testing, healthcare access, and treatment adherence, often leading to non-disclosure. The discloser navigates challenges by balancing the confidant's potential reactions, ranging from rejection and discrimination to the benefits of increased intimacy and liking.

Optimal use of BTK inhibitors in Waldenström's macroglobulinemia: combination or single drug approach?

Waldenström macroglobulinemia is an indolent B-cell lymphoma which although remains incurable, there are a lot of treatment options. Today, Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors have a central role in the management of the disease either as monotherapy or combination with other regimens, due to their efficacy, ease of administration, and safety profile. However, there is still active clinical investigation to further increase their efficacy and improve safety profile.

Unmasking a Rare Genetic Mutation: The Importance of Genetic Testing in Refractory Hypertriglyceridemia.

Background/objective: Genetic causes of hypertriglyceridemia like familial chylomicronemia syndrome can be overlooked in everyday practice. We report a patient with a rare genetic mutation, highlighting the importance of genetic testing for timely diagnosis and prevention of complications.

Case Report: A 45-year-old Hispanic female presented with serum triglyceride levels of 749 mg/dL, refractory to rosuvastatin 10 mg daily and omega-3 ethyl esters 2 g daily.

Endovascular Management of an Isolated Common Iliac Artery Aneurysm in a Patient with an Ectopic Pelvic Kidney: A Case Report.

Isolated iliac aneurysms are rare, and their management becomes complex when accompanied by ectopic pelvic kidneys due to altered vascular anatomy. We report a 58-year-old male with an incidentally discovered 53.5 mm left common iliac artery (CIA) aneurysm and an ectopic pelvic kidney.

Injectable and 3D-Printable Semi-Interpenetrating Polymer Networks Based on Modified Sodium Alginate for Cell Spheroid Formation.

We report on 3D-printable polymer networks based on the combination of modified alginate-based polymer blends; two alginate polymers were prepared, namely, a thermoresponsive polymer grafted with P(NIPAM--NtBAM)-NH copolymer chains and a second polymer modified with diol/pH-sensitive 3-aminophenylboronic acid. The gelation properties were determined by the hydrophobic association of the thermosensitive chains and the formation of boronate esters. At a mixing ratio of 70/30 wt % of the thermo/diol-responsive polymers, the semi-interpenetrating network exhibited an optimum storage modulus ranging from ca.

Polygenic score distribution differences across European ancestry populations: implications for breast cancer risk prediction.

Background: The 313-variant polygenic risk score (PRS) provides a promising tool for clinical breast cancer risk prediction. However, evaluation of the PRS across different European populations which could influence risk estimation has not been performed.

Methods: We explored the distribution of PRS across European populations using genotype data from 94,072 females without breast cancer diagnosis, of European-ancestry from 21 countries participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) and 223,316 females without breast cancer diagnosis from the UK Biobank.

Flush endovenous laser ablation (fEVLA) in the treatment of lower limb venous insufficiency a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: To assess the safety and efficacy of flush endovenous laser ablation (fEVLA) in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency.

Materials And Methods: Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic review aiming to identify studies published from inception to March 2024 was conducted. The investigation covered single-arm studies and studies comparing fEVLA to standard EVLA (sEVLA).

Radiochemical purity and patient preparation: Key factors affecting the accuracy of Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT imaging in neuroendocrine tumors.

Gallium-68-DOTA-D-phe1-try3-octreotide (Ga-DOTATOC) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is a crucial diagnostic tool for neuroendocrine tumors (NET). Its accuracy is influenced by radiochemical purity and patient preparation. We present two cases where unexpected radiotracer uptake in Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT imaging was observed.

- a large-scale dataset of 3D medical shapes for computer vision.

Objectives: The shape is commonly used to describe the objects. State-of-the-art algorithms in medical imaging are predominantly diverging from computer vision, where voxel grids, meshes, point clouds, and implicit surface models are used. This is seen from the growing popularity of ShapeNet (51,300 models) and Princeton ModelNet (127,915 models).

COVID-19 is a trigger of autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a hypothesis tested over time.

We discuss the paper recently published in Rheumatology Internationa. This article reflects on the prevalence of autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2023) and compares the same with the pre-pandemic period (2016-2019). We assume that SARS-CoV-2 triggers ARD.

EAES rapid guideline: surgical management of complicated diverticulitis - with ESCP participation.

Background: The surgical management of complicated diverticulitis varies across Europe. EAES members prioritized this topic to be addressed by a clinical practice guideline through an online questionnaire.

Objective: To develop evidence-informed clinical practice recommendations for key stakeholders involved in the treatment of complicated diverticulitis; to improve operative and perioperative outcomes, patient experience and quality of life through a systematic evidence-to-decision approach by a diverse, multidisciplinary panel.

Surgical management of complicated diverticulitis: systematic review and individual patient data network meta-analysis : An EAES/ESCP collaborative project.

Background: We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) of individualized patient data (IPD) to inform the development of evidence-informed clinical practice recommendations.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central in October 2023 to identify RCTs comparing Hartmann's resection (HR), primary resection and anastomosis (PRA), or laparoscopic peritoneal lavage (LPL) among patients with class Ib-IV Hinchey diverticulitis. Outcomes of interest were prioritized by an international, multidisciplinary panel including two patient partners.