Physical training in patients on hemodialysis has a beneficial effect on the levels of eicosanoid hormone-like substances

Ioannis Karamouzis, Dimitrios Grekas, Michael Karamouzis, Konstantinos Kallaras, Vassiliki Stergiou-Michailidou, Evangelia Kouidi, Asterios Deligiannis, Norma Vavatsi-Christaki

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OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in the levels of vasoactive eicosanoid hormone-like substances PGE2, PGI2 and TXA2 in hemodialysis (HD)patients who were following a long-term physical training program …

Eating habits and factors affecting food choice of adolescents living in rural areas

Alexandra Bargiota, Maria Delizona, Andreas Tsitouras, Georgios N. Koukoulis

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OBJECTIVE: To establish factors that affect food choices among adolescents living in rural areas and to identify their food choices. DESIGN: A random sample of adolescents living in a Greek rural area (n=382) aged 12-18 years were individually interviewed …

Self-reported prevalence of obesity among 20,329 adults from large territories of Greece, Serbia and Turkey

Gerasimos E Krassas, Fahrettin Kelestimur, Dragan Micic,Themistoklis Tzotzas, Theodoros Konstandinidis, MariaBougoulia, Christos Tsametis, Ramiz Colak, Jagoda Jorga, Zivka Kostic, Mirjana Pavlovic. The Balkan Group for the Study of Obesity

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The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of overweight, obesity and body mass index (BMI) distribution in people living in large territories of Greece, Serbia and Turkey. A cross-sectional multi-national epidemiological survey was designed on the basis of self-reported information on height and weight …

Ghrelin and leptin levels in relation to puberty and reproductive function in patients with beta-thalassemia

Ghollam-Reza Moshtaghi-Kashanian, Fakhrolmulok Razavi

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OBJECTIVE: Recently published animal studies indicate that leptin and ghrelin play a role in puberty initiation and progress as well as in reproduction. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relation of these two hormones to the pubertal maturity and fertility status in patients with β-thalassemia …

Sex steroids and sex hormone-binding globulin in postmenopausal women with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Stergios A. Polyzos, Jannis Kountouras, Agathocles Tsatsoulis, Efthimia Zafeiriadou, Evangelia Katsiki, Kalliopi Patsiaoura, Christos Zavos, Vasiliki V. Anastasiadou, Aristidis Slavakis

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OBJECTIVE: The evaluation of serum sex steroids and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels in postmenopausal women with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and their association to the disease severity. DESIGN: Twenty-two postmenopausal women with biopsy-proven NAFLD …

Gut microbiota and obesity: implications for fecal microbiota transplantation therapy

Yongbo Kang, Yue Cai

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Obesity is a major public health issue as it is causally associated with several chronic disorders, including type-2 diabetes, cerebrovascular disease (CVD), and cancer. In the United States and other countries worldwide, the obesity epidemic has drastically impacted the status of health of millions as well as healthcare costs. Aside from poor diet, hygiene, and genetics, there are many other factors thought to play an important role in the emergence of obesity …

The use of Data Mining in the categorization of patients with Azoospermia

Themistoklis Mikos, Konstantinos Pantazis, Dimitrios G. Goulis, Nikolaos Maglaveras, John N. Bontis, John Papadimas

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OBJECTIVE: Data Mining is a relatively new field of Medical Informatics. The aim of this study was to compare Data Mining diagnosis with clinical diagnosis by applying a Data Miner (DM) to a clinical dataset of infertile men with azoospermia. DESIGN: One hundred and forty-seven azoospermic men were clinically classified into four groups …

Extensive personal experience. Validation of prolactin levels in menstrual disorders and in prolactinomas

Menelaos L. Batrinos

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It is now well established that hyperprolactinaemia is not rare and in the majority of cases is caused by a pituitary tumor, a prolactinoma. However, despite a plethora of relevant publications there are still certain questions that have not been adequately addressed: 1. What is the upper normal level of serum prolactin beyond which the condition should be characterized as hyperprolactinaemia …

Disparate effects of pharmacotherapy on plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels in women with the polycystic ovary syndrome

Ekaterini Koiou, Konstantinos Tziomalos, Ilias Katsikis, Dimitrios Delkos, Elena A. Tsourdi, Dimitrios Panidis

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OBJECTIVE: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by obesity and insulin resistance (IR), which result in elevated plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels. We aimed to assess the changes in PAI-1 levels in PCOS during treatment with metformin and during weight loss …

Detection rate of somatostatin receptor PET in patients with recurrent medullary thyroid carcinoma: a systematic review and a meta-analysis

Giorgio Treglia, Adriana Tamburello, Luca Giovanella

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PURPOSE: Several articles have demonstrated the high diagnostic performance of somatostatin receptor positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). On the other hand, only a few studies have evaluated the detection rate (DR) of this imaging method in recurrent medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). We aimed to perform a systematic review and a meta-analysis of the DR of somatostatin receptor PET or PET/CT in patients with recurrent MTC to add evidence-based data …

The concurrence of Microalbuminuria and Retinopathy with Cardiovascular Risk Factors; reliable predictors of Asymptomatic Coronary Artery Disease in Type 2 Diabetes

George Ioannidis, Melpomeni Peppa, Phivi Rontogianni, Michael Callifronas, Christos Papadimitriou, Georgia Chrysanthopoulou, Lambros Anthopoulos, Matina Kesse, Nicolaos Thalassinos

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People with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) have a greater risk for premature morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease than the general population: cardiovascular disease accounts for 75% of deaths in this population group. We examined whether or not the association of clinical cardiovascular risk factors (RF) with both …

Epigenetics, brain, behavior, and the environment

David Crews

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Early experiences can modify regulatory factors affecting gene expression in such a way that, although the DNA sequence itself is not changed, the individual’s physiology and behavior is substantially influenced. In some instances these epigenetic effects are exerted upon exposure, while in other instances they are transmitted across generations …

Identification of four novel mutations in the thyroid hormone receptor-β gene in 164 Spanish and 2 Greek patients with resistance to thyroid hormone

Antonio J. Amor, Irene Halperin, Rocίo Alfayate, Victoria M. Borrás, Arancha Escribano, Cintia González, Antonio Gutirrez, Montserrat Mauri, Pilar Pérez, Antonio Picό, Irene Vourliotaki, Josep Oriola

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OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to describe the clinical, biochemical, and genetic features of a sample of Mediterranean patients with RTH (resistance to thyroid hormone) due to mutations in TRβ (thyroid hormone receptor beta) referred to our institution during the last 15 years …

Roles of Protein Kinase A (PKA) and PKC on Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone (CRH)-Induced Elevation of Cytosolic Calcium from Extra- and Intra-cellular Sources

Irini Dermitzaki, Christos Tsatsanis, Vassiliki-Ismini Alexaki, Elias Castanas, Andrew N. Margioris

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Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) affects cytosolic calcium ion levels. The aim of the present work was to examine the role of protein kinase A (PKA)- and PKC-dependent signalling pathways in mediating the effect of CRH on calcium ion influx (from extra-cellular sources) and calcium ion mobilization (from intra-cellular stores)…

The interrelationship of serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in pregnancy at term: a meta-analysis

Peter D. Papapetrou

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OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between circulating 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)2D, and 24,25(OH)2D in pregnancy at term, and to test the hypothesis that serum 25(OH)D and 24,25(OH)2D are repressed by high serum 1,25(OH)2D levels …

Efficacy and safety of combined parenteral and oral steroid therapy in Graves’ orbitopathy

Biljana Nedeljkovic Beleslin, Jasmina Ciric, Milos Zarkovic, Mirjana Stojkovic, Slavica Savic, Miroslav Knezevic, Branislav Stankovic, Bozo Trbojevic

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OBJECTIVE: Glucocorticoids (GC) are the treatment of choice for moderate-to-severe and active Graves’ orbitopathy (GO), but optimal treatment is still . The aim of the present study was to analyze the efficacy and tolerability of combined parenteral GC pulse therapy followed by oral GC in the interpulse period …

Effect of Restoration of Euthyroidism on Peripheral Blood Cells and Erythropoietin in Women with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Mirjam Christ-Crain, Christian Meier, Peter Huber, Henryk Zulewski, Jean-Jacques Staub, Beat Müller

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Background: In overt hypothyroidism (OH) anemia is common, while less frequently basophilia has been described. In subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), however, data on the distribution of peripheral blood cells are lacking. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of L-T4 replacement therapy on peripheral blood elements in female patients with SCH before and after restoration …

Isolated adrenocorticotropin deficiency and flexion contractures syndrome

Vassiliki Syriou, Anestis Moisidis, Nikolaos Tamouridis, Krystallenia I. Alexandraki, Margarita Anapliotou

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We present a 73-year-old man with isolated adrenocorticotropic hormone deficiency and “flexion contractures” syndrome along with a review of the relevant literature. The patient initially presented anorexia, vomiting, arthralgias, malaise, and weight loss, which progressively deteriorated during the subsequent 6 months. He was admitted to the hospital with fever, confusion, severe cachexia, sinus tachycardia, low blood pressure …

Neuroendocrine dysfunction in patients recovering from subarachnoid hemorrhage

Vladimir Jovanovic, Sandra Pekic, Marko Stojanovic, Goran Tasic, Branko Djurovic, Ivan Soldatovic, Mirjana Doknic, Dragana Miljic, Marina Djurovic, Milica Medic-Stojanoska, Vera Popovic

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OBJECTIVE: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a recently identified risk factor for hypopituitarism, particularly growth hormone (GH) and corticotrophins deficiencies. The aim of our study was to identify possible predictor(s) for neuroendocrine dysfunction in SAH survivors. DESIGN: Pituitary function was evaluated in 93 patients …

No increase in renal iodine excretion during pregnancy: a telling comparison between pregnant women and their spouses

Eftychia Koukkou, Stavros Kravaritis, Irene Mamali, Georgios G. Markantes, Marina Michalaki, Georgios G. Adonakis, Neoklis A. Georgopoulos, Kostas B. Markou

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OBJECTIVE: Adequate dietary iodine intake is necessary for normal thyroid gland function at all times, and most particularly during pregnancy. Increased iodine loss is cited, among other factors, as responsible for the increased iodine demand in this period. Our aim was to compare renal iodine excretion between …