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OBJECTIVE Medical education (ME), as a specific field of knowledge related to the processes of medical teaching and learning, is gradually gaining ground in Greece. It does not need to start from scratch, as relevant papers have been already published in the Greek medical literature. The aim of this paper was to list all the articles that refer to ME, published in the journals of the Athens Medical Society: Archives of Hellenic Medicine (AHM) and Archives of Medical Societies (AMS). METHOD Every single published issue was indexed. After the 4th issue of the 16th volume of ??? (July--August 1999) all articles are available on the web (http://www.mednet.gr/archives/). The earlier issues were found either in the Library of Health Sciences of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens or in the Library of the Athens Medical Society. In both cases, the table of contents was first checked, either electronically since July- August 1999 or manually for all previous issues. The abstracts of all articles that initially considered relevant were read and the irrelevant ones were excluded. RESULTS The first issue of AMS was published in the first trimester of the year 1975. The first issue of AHM, the sequel to AMS, was published in February 1984. Having indexed 36 volumes, 47 articles on ME were found (1.28 per year). The first such article was in the 2nd issue of the 5th volume of AMS (1979) and the last in the 3rd issue of the 27th volume of AHM (2010). During its 9-year period of publication, AMS hosted 16 ME articles (1.8 per year), while A?M journal has hosted 31 ME articles in its 26 years of publication (1.2 per year). All papers relevant to ME are listed here, including the 6 that have been recently accepted (2010) but not yet published. CONCLUSIONS Although AMS and AHM are medical and not medical-education journals, ME has found its way into their pages. The listing of ME articles could be helpful to those who intend to work in the field of education of medical students and doctors. The expansion of this indexing to include all other medical journals would contribute to the whole picture of the relevant to Greek bibliography on ME, which should not be ignored by those interested in ME in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archives of Hellenic Medicine / Arheia Ellenikes Iatrikes is the property of Athens Medical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archives of Hellenic Medicine / Arheia Ellenikes Iatrikes is the property of Athens Medical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Terrorism constitutes a contemporary complex social and political phenomenon, due to both the mass, globalized dimensions it has assumed in recent years and the technological sophistication which makes possible maximization of the scale and power of terrorist acts. Fear, a fundamental element of any terrorist act, can become the object of psychiatric attention because of both its individual effects and its broader social impact. The direct and indirect effects of terrorist acts on the mental health of the victims, and the effects of terrorism as a phenomenon contributing to the shaping of social conditions are emphasized in this paper. The immediate victims of a terrorist act are at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, panic disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder and substance abuse. Despite the fact that terrorist attacks, along with natural or technological disasters, do not appear to cause specific mental health difficulties in the general population, the unquestionable power that the contemporary threat of terrorism exerts is likely to perpetuate fear throughout society as a whole. In this climate of fear, the ineluctable development of suspicion, intolerance and estrangement encumbers social cohesion, threatening to disrupt social bonds and give rise to alienation. On this basis, the likelihood of long-term adverse effects of terrorism on the mental health of the members of society constitutes a reasonable ground for reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 13% of all newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer. It is characterized by rapid growth, early distant metastases and good response to chemotherapy. This is a topical review of the literature on the role of soluble tumor markers in the diagnosis and treatment of SCLC. PubMed was searched for relevant papers, using the key words "soluble tumor markers in SCLC". Most of the references found concerned pro-gastrin releasing peptide (pro-GRP) and neuron specific enolase (NSE) which are the markers most specific for the diagnosis of SCLC. The sensitivity and specificity of pro-GRP for the diagnosis of SCLC are 72% and 93%, respectively, slightly higher than those of NSE. Pro-GRP distinguishes with a higher accuracy between complete and partial response to treatment and diagnoses earlier relapse of the disease. On the other hand, NSE is a better predictor of survival, a role that is also provided by other tumor markers that are less specific to SCLC, such as carcinoembryonic antigen and chromogranin A. A few studies have demonstrated that measurement of tumor markers in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and pleural fluid, in combination with traditional diagnostic methods such as bronchoscopy, may be useful for the diagnosis of SCLC. In conclusion, although soluble tumor markers appear to play an important role in the management of patients with SCLC after administration of chemotherapy, the sole use of tumor markers cannot establish the diagnosis with a high degree of confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The various mechanisms of payment for health services aim to create incentives which affect the health provider behavior, economic efficiency and productivity of a health system, and ultimately its quality. This paper describes and analyzes the current methods of funding used in hospital systems worldwide, from the "diagnosis related groups" (DRGs) method to the recent development of hospital-based "pay for performance" (P4P) of the US Medicare system and the "payment by results" of the UK. Emphasis is placed on studies measuring hospital efficiency before and after adoption of the new methods of payment. The necessary institutional reforms are described which enhance competition between the health care funding schemes, such as social security funds and insurance companies, and the health care providers, such as hospitals. The Greek case is evaluated from the beginning of the economic crisis in 2009 until the present, with the establishment of a single health insurance fund, EOPXY, the creation of the database esy.net for the collection of complete, reliable data on the costing and operation of the state hospitals (ESY) in order to monitor their financial and administrative functioning, and the adoption of the payment method of KENDRGs, where classification was made in 760 groups based on the initial diagnosis and treatment process. Finally, several changes are proposed which would lead towards a more sophisticated payment system based on performance criteria, including quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rho kinases are a family of small signaling GTPases, belonging to the superfamily of Ras proteins. Their main function is in the regulation of the cytoskeleton in such a way that critical cellular processes, such as morphogenesis, growth of neurons, cell division, cell adhesion and cellular migration take place correctly. Their deregulation has been associated with several types of cancer. In a few types of cancers mutations of these proteins have been identified, but in most types the regulatory proteins (GEFs, GAPs and GDIs) are deregulated, resulting in either overexpression or reduced expression. In addition, Rho have been shown to act as both oncogenes and tumor suppressor molecules, which induce and inhibit tumor growth, respectively. In the majority of cancer tissues increased activation of Rho GTPases has been observed compared with the corresponding normal tissue. This paper emphasizes the expression of Rho GTPases in different types of lung cancer. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer, accounting for approximately 12.5% of newly diagnosed cancers worldwide, and it is divided into two main subtypes, the small cell carcinoma (SCLC) and the non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC). For this reason, and because a specific type, lung cancer subscale (LCS) presents a very rapid progression, this review highlights the correlation between the activity of Rho kinases (which includes their possible oncogenic or oncosuppressor roles) with both progression and metastasis of these tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archives of Hellenic Medicine / Arheia Ellenikes Iatrikes is the property of Athens Medical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archives of Hellenic Medicine / Arheia Ellenikes Iatrikes is the property of Athens Medical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archives of Hellenic Medicine / Arheia Ellenikes Iatrikes is the property of Athens Medical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archives of Hellenic Medicine / Arheia Ellenikes Iatrikes is the property of Athens Medical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

OBJECTIVE To investigate the immediate adaptations to aerobic exercise of the cardiovascular function of overweight/ obese pre-pubertal children. METHOD The study group consisted of 54 healthy volunteer Cypriot children, aged 11.2±0.5 years, divided according to the IOTF criteria into normal-weight (n=21) and overweight/obese (n=33) subgroups. Measurements were made of their anthropometric characteristics [body mass index (BMI), height, skinfold thickness, and waist, abdominal and hip circumference], and blood pressure and heart rate: (a) At rest, (b) during treadmill exercise at 4 km/h, 5.6 km/h and 8 km/h of 10 min duration at each stage, and (c) at the 3rd min of recovery. In addition, during the last 10 sec of each stage, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were obtained using the Children's OMNI Scale (category range, 0-10). Pulse pressure, mean arterial pressure, double product, stroke volume, cardiac output, peripheral resistance and cardiac index were determined using specific equations. RESULTS The normal-weight children had better values of systolic blood pressure (p<0.01), mean blood pressure (p<0.01), resting pulse pressure (p<0.05), heart rate (p<0.05), double product (p<0.001) and cardiac index (p<0.01) than the overweight/ obese children. In addition, the normal-weight children showed a better response in the cardiac index at rest (p<0.05) and at 8 km/h (p<0.01), and at the 3rd min of recovery (p<0.01) than the overweight/obese children. Significant correlation was demonstrated between RPE and BMI (r=0.422, p<0.001), body fat (r=0.375, p<0.01), waist circumference (r=0.344, p<0.05), abdominal circumference (r=0.376, p<0.001), systolic blood pressure (r=0.279, p<0.05), double product (r=0.301, p<0.05), cardiac index (r=-0.331, p<0,05) and exercise time on the treadmill (r=- 0.487, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Overweight/obese children showed poorer cardiovascular function and higher ratings of perceived exertion than normal-weight children, due to their poor level of physical fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the survival and characteristics of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in two Greek cohorts, one in the distant past and one in the present, under real-life conditions. METHOD Survival analysis was conducted, retrospectively for 11 patients with HCC diagnosed between 1928 and 1938 (group A), and for 65 patients diagnosed with HCC between 2008 and 2013 (group B). For group B the relevant data were collected partly retrospectively and partly prospectively. The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system was used for patients in group B.The characteristics of the patients, the type of treatment, the interim and overall survival and the toxicity of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) of the tumor and sorafenib were studied. RESULTS Most of the patients with HCC were men. The mean age at diagnosis was 54.3 years in group A and 69.3 years in group B. Mean survival was 3.9 months in group A and 18 months in group B. Chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection was the commonest risk factor in group B. Nodular HCC was the commonest type of disease in both groups. In most cases the diagnosis was based on dynamic imaging criteria. Targeted biopsy of the lesion was conducted in 16 cases (24.6%). In most patients in group B the cancer was classified as stage A. The median survival for stages A, B, C and D was 26, 24, 18 and 4 months respectively. TACE was undertaken in 38 patients (58.5%), most of who suffered from the postembolization syndrome. Sorafenib was prescribed to 16 patients (24.6%) in group B, the commonest side effects of which were diarrhea, fatigue and hand-foot syndrome. Data analysis from 11 patients (stage A or B at diagnosis) who had received TACE showed no increase in overall survival with sorafenib compared with 11 control subjects (p=0.57). CONCLUSIONS The age at diagnosis and the overall survival of patients with HCC appear to have increased in comparison with 1928-1938. Use of the BCLC system, under real-life conditions, has helped to identify the best available treatment strategy for each patient and improve the prognosis. The toxicity of TACE and sorafenib in the study group was within the predicted range. The data analysis was not sufficiently powerful to detect overall survival benefit in patients with cancer diagnosed as stage A or B according to the BCLC system who received sorafenib after chemoembolization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE Study of the prevalence of hepatitis C in intravenous drug users (IVDUs) in Greece. METHOD An epidemiological questionnaire was completed by personal interview with 2,668 IVDUs who attended the Greek Organization against Drugs (OKANA) from January 1997 through December 2007. Descriptive statistical analysis, using chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and univariate and multiple logistic regression was applied using STATA v. 12.1 software. RESULTS The IVDUs were mainly men (81%) aged 25-45 years, who had started drug use at the age of 5-24 years. Most of them lived with their parents (55.2%), in Athens (98.3%) and were unemployed (69%) and 34% were secondary school graduates. They had started drug use with hashish (68%) and continued with heroin (72.9%), on a daily basis in 81.4%. They tested positive for AIDS, hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis A (HAV) and anti-HBc in percentages of 1.05%, 72.23%, 36.21% and 45.01%, respectively. HCV prevalence decreased from 85.7% in those who started illicit drug use in 1971-1980, to 34% in those who started after 2001. HCV prevalence increased with age, from 52.55% in those aged 15-24 years to 90% in those above 65 years. Logistic regression analysis revealed that anti-HCV(+) was related to the anti-HBc outcome, the first decade of illicit substance use, the habitual use of a common syringe, the age at onset of drug use, age, educational level, the anti-HAV response, previous treatment, and IVDU use during the last month. CONCLUSIONS IVDUs in Greece are mainly unemployed young men using heroin on a daily base. HCV prevalence in IVDUs has shown a reduction over time, but increases with age and therefore the length of time of drug use, as documented in the international literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE An increased frequency of psychological problems is documented in the parents of children suffering from type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological distress of the parents of children with type 1 DM and the differences between fathers and mothers. METHOD The study sample consisted of 83 parents, 18 fathers and 65 mothers, of children with type 1 DM, who were accompanying their children for regular outpatient examination in the pediatric endocrinology departments of one university and one general hospital in a provincial town in Greece. The participants completed the SCL-90 questionnaire which comprises 9 subscales evaluating psychological status, and from which the global severity index, positive symptoms distress index and positive symptoms total are derived. Statistical analysis was conducted using the t-test and x2, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS Mothers scored higher than fathers in all subscales other than psychoticism and hostility, although the differences were not statistically significant. The mean value for the positive symptoms distress index was 1.35±0.67 in the fathers and 1.59±0.47 in the mothers (p=0.085). CONCLUSIONS Mothers and fathers of children with type 1 DM report a considerable degree of psychological distress. Mothers show a trend for higher levels of distress than fathers in the dimensions of anxiety and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To investigate the nature and causes of occupational injuries in firefighters. METHOD The study sample consisted of 3,289 full-time firefighters throughout Greece. Volunteer firefighters were not included in the survey. The age of the respondants ranged between 24 and 60 years, mean 36.4±6.19 years, and 3,167 (96.3%) were male and 122 (3.7%) were female firefighters. A self-administered work related injuries (WRIs) questionnaire was distributed to the firefighters by the researchers during work hours, the completion of which was optional. The questionnaire included information about the nature of the work and the employment history, personal characteristics, physical risk factors at work, the type of injury incurred, the injured body part and the cause-mechanism of the injuries. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire had been pre-tested among 80 firefighters. The responses were analyzed using frequencies, crosstabs and the the non-parametric test x2 with the statistical package Predictive Analytics Software (PASW Statistics), v. 18.0. RESULTS Of the respondents, 356 (10.8%) reported having been injured at work, which in 238 (7.2%) had necessitated an absence from work of more than two days. The most commonly injuries were "acute lumbago", strain and ankle injuries. The most commonly specified injury mechanisms were falls/slips/trips, high intensity activity, inadequate technique and fatigue. Significant correlations were demonstrated between injuries and age, work experience, physical condition, impaired vision, difficulty in breathing due to smoke and toxic gases, sudden weight lifting, inadequate technique and lack of personnel and equipment (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS It is apparent that the occupational obligations of firefighters put a stress on the musculoskeletal and the respiratory system. Psychological factors should also be explored as they possibly influence the occurrence of work related injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To analyze the current organizational culture of general public hospitals and investigate the model of culture that the hospital executives wish to see prevailing in the next 5-year period. METHOD The survey was conducted in 20 general public hospitals of the region of Athens. The study sample consisted of 541 senior executives of the four departments of each hospital (medical, nursing, administrative, technical). The executives were asked to provide assessment using the organizational culture assessment instrument (OCAI), based on the competing values framework of Cameron and Quinn. RESULTS The dominant organizational culture in the hospitals surveyed can be described by the "bureaucratic culture" model (47.05% of respondents). The "clan culture" came second (23.76%) and the "entrepreneurial-adhocracy culture" model and the "market culture" model scored 11.79% and 17.3%, respectively. The desired culture model, in contrast, was reported to be the clan culture or participatory model (31.11%), followed by the entrepreneurial-adhocracy culture model (25.08%), the market culture model (24.42%) and, least desirable, the bureaucratic culture model (19.4%). CONCLUSIONS Currently, the general public hospitals are characterized by internal orientation, observance of rules and processes and a focus on control hierarchy, predictability and stability. The models of entrepreneurial-adhocracy culture and market culture, which both focus on the exterior macro-environment and growth for the hospital, record small percentages. As far as the future is concerned, hospital executives would like to see a change from the bureaucratic culture model of organization towards the participatory model, which would include elements of flexibility, creativity, dynamism and competitiveness that are inherent in the other two models, entrepreneurial-adhocracy and market. The focus appears to remain on the internal environment of the hospitals, but at the same time there is evidence of a wish to look also into the external environment of hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To study hereditary ataxias in the Greek population, focusing on the prevalence, geographical distribution and phenotypic and genotypic spectrum of Friedreich's ataxia and dominant ataxias, also known as spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA). METHOD The study included 192 consecutive index patients with suspected hereditary ataxia referred to the Neurogenetics Unit of the Eginition Hospital, Athens over a period of 19 years. For prevalence estimates all non-index patients still alive from the Athens cohort were included, along with a small group of patients with ataxia referred to the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics for molecular diagnosis. RESULTS The minimum prevalence of Friedreich's ataxia was estimated at 0.9/100,000. A higher prevalence was noted in the Aegean islands, with clusters of very high prevalence in the islands of Ikaria and Melos. The minimum prevalence for SCA was 0.7/100,000. The genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of Friedreich's ataxia was not significantly different from that documented in other European populations; one patient was found to be a compound heterozygote for a known point mutation in FXN (Asn146Lys). Undiagnosed hereditary ataxias included a majority of Friedreich-like and spastic ataxias. Regarding the different SCA genetic subtypes, SCA1, SCA2, SCA6, SCA7 and SCA17 were identified, SCA1 and SCA7 being the most common dominant ataxias in this cohort, while no patient had SCA3, the most common SCA in many European populations. In total, a molecular diagnosis was reached in 30% of dominant ataxias. Undiagnosed SCA patients included a majority with type III dominant ataxias (pure ataxias). CONCLUSIONS Friedreich's ataxia is the commonest hereditary ataxia in the Greek population, with prevalence somewhat below the European average, and dominant SCAs are the second in frequency. Patients with SCA1, SCA2, SCA6, SCA7 and SCA17 comprise the spectrum of Greek patients with ataxia with a specific molecular diagnosis, but SCA3 (Machado-Joseph disease) appears to be very rare in the Greek population. Based on the above findings, a diagnostic algorithm is proposed for the molecular approach to hereditary ataxias in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Descriptive statistics are used for the concise and detailed presentation of data in epidemiological studies, while inferential statistics are applied for the investigation of relationships between determinants and outcomes. Descriptive statistics concern the presentation of epidemiological data (univariate analysis), and inferential statistics include bivariate and multivariate analysis. Univariate analysis permits the separate presentation of each variable of a study, bivariate analysis the investigation of the relationship between a determinant and an outcome and multivariate analysis the investigation of the relationship between a determinant and an outcome, taking into consideration the effect of potential confounding and modifying factors. Univariate analysis permits the presentation of absolute and relative frequencies of nominal variates and the presentation of appropriate measures of location and dispersion of quantitative variates. Particular consideration is required in the case of ordinal variates, where the presentation is feasible of both absolute and relative frequencies and measures of location and dispersion. Measures of location are the values around which the observations appear to mass to a higher degree, while measures of dispersion capture the degree to which the observations are spread out. The most important measures of location are the mean, the median and the mode. The most important measures of dispersion are the range, the interquartile range, the variance, the standard deviation and the coefficient of variation. In the case of continuous variates, univariate analysis must include a check of normality of distribution. When continuous variates follow a normal distribution, the application of parametric methods in bivariate and multivariate analysis is feasible, but when they do not follow a normal distribution the application of non-parametric methods is required. A check of normality can be made as follows: (a) comparison between the mean and the median values, (b) estimation of the coefficient of skewedness and kurtosis, (c) application of appropriate statistical tests (e.g., Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk), and (d) use of graphs (histograms, normal Q-Q plots and box plots). Quantitative variates that follow a normal distribution should be presented as mean and standard deviation, while those that do not follow normal distribution should be presented as median and interquartile range or range. Ordinal variates, regardless of whether or not they follow a normal distribution, should be presented as median and interquartile range or range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To explore the anxiety and depression experienced by patients with sickle cell disease. METHOD The sample consisted of 154 patients with sickle cell disease treated in the day clinic and medical clinic of one public hospital in Attica. Data were collected by the completion of a purpose designed questionnaire which in addition to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and variables related to the patients' views included the self-rated hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADs). RESULTS According to the HADs scores, 31.8% of the participants experienced a high level of anxiety and 13.6% a high level of depression. Statistically significant correlation was found between the level of anxiety and the presence of another disease (p=0.045), the frequency in change of treatment protocol (p=0.014), difficulty in finding blood for transfusion (p=0.017), difficulties in relationships in the social (p=0.025) and family environment (p<0.001). Statistically significant correlation was found between the level of depression and gender (p=0.007), age (p=0.016), educational level (p=0.006), occupation (p=0.030), marital status (p=0.006) and number of children (p=0.035). CONCLUSIONS Sociodemographic factors found to be associated with the anxiety and depression experienced by patients with sickle cell disease should be addressed as an integral part of holistic therapeutic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the changes in body composition and lipid profile after a three year systematic program combining aerobic and resistance exercise in healthy elderly women. METHOD Twenty elderly women were divided into two groups: the exercise group (n=10, age 62.0±5.7 years) and the control group (n=10, age 66.2±5.1 years). The exercise program included 3 sessions a week, each of which lasted 50 minutes and combined strength and aerobic exercise. At the beginning and at the end of each 9-month period anthropometric measurements and biochemical analyses were applied. There was a 3 month suspension of the program each year. RESULTS After 3 years of the intervention program, significant differences were recorded between the exercise group and the control group in body mass (p<0.01), body mass index (BMI) (p<0.05), body fat (p<0.01) and blood levels of fasting glucose (p<0.001), total cholesterol (p<0.05) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (p<0.01). Each year, after 9 months of intervention, the exercise group presented significantly lower values in obesity indices (p<0.05), fasting blood glucose (p<0.001) and total cholesterol (p<0.001) and higher values in HDL-C (p<0.05) than the control group. These positive adaptations, however, were reversed during detraining (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Nine months of annual training for a 3-year period induced positive adaptations in body composition and lipid profile in elderly women. Three months of detraining, reversed the favorable adaptations, highlighting the importance of regular exercise in maintaining the positive results beneficial to health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing research articles is a complex and difficult task, which influences the publication of studies. The results of, or in other words, the information about a study becomes widely known in the scientific community via publication in prominent scientific journals. The completion of a study is achieved with the publication of its results. The title and the abstract of a research article are the most important parts. A declarative title is preferred over a neutral title, since this offers a higher level of information and directly informs the readers about the results of the study. The type of study should be included in the title of an article. Abbreviations and acronyms must be avoided in the title. Most journals adopt the format of a structured abstract, which is a help to writers, editors, reviewers and readers. The structured abstract usually consists of the following parts: Introduction, methods, results and conclusions. The introduction usually consists of one or two sentences, that declare briefly the general background of the research question, and a third sentence, that declares with clarity the objective or the aim of the study. The methodology of the study is presented with brevity in the methods section, while the most important findings are presented with clarity in the results section. The outcome of the study is presented concisely in the conclusions section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE In primary care (PC), screening tools are useful for the detection of patients requiring special medical intervention. The objective of this project was to develop a prognostic model for the detection of high risk patients, based on medication history, age, and sex. METHOD This project was a historical cohort study. All the deaths of the last decade in a small municipality of mountainous Crete were recorded. The age, sex, and most recent medication history were recorded in a data base, for each of these deaths and for most of the living patients in the same municipality. A logistic regression prognostic model was developed, based on the above data, with death as the dependent (binary) variable, and sex, age, and 10 medications or medication groups as the predictors of this model. The 10 medications were selected from among those administered for the most fatal diseases (e.g., coronary artery disease). ROC curves were constructed for all the predictor variables. RESULTS A total number of 311 deaths were recorded during the ten years in the specific municipality. There were missing data for 14 deaths, so 297 deaths were eventually entered into the data base. The patient histories recorded were 2,045, of which there were missing data for 94, so 1,951 were entered into the data base. The specificity and sensitivity of the model were found to be 97.7% and 81.6%, respectively. The total percentage of correctly classified cases (accuracy) was 96.0%. Significant predictors for the dependent variable, death, were age and use of bronchodilators, sulfonylureas, digitalis, metformin, furosemide, potassium-sparing diuretics, nitrates, calcium channel blockers and ACE inhibitors (p=0.002-0.000). Sex and salicylic acid (as antiplatelet agent) were not significant predictors (p>0.05). The accuracy of the model was finally confirmed using ROC curves (area under curve from 0.537 to 0.673) and the predictor "age" was found to have a cut-off of 77 years. CONCLUSIONS The model developed here provides general practitioners with a screening test helpful for detecting high risk patients on whom they can focus in order to minimize hospitalization and the risk of death. It is clear that clinicians can develop similar models, using other predictors according to their routine and specialization. A prospective project is currently running to confirm the effectiveness of the model, although time is required for its completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the literature, miracles are often placed in a position antagonistic to conventional medicine, and are co-examined in the context of "folklore medical wisdom". Despite the fact that in later years the study of the lives of saints and of their miracles has attracted the interest of historians, it is debatable whether their miracles could be considered as a specific therapeutic practice, entirely discrete from traditional "folklore" medical wisdom. This article aims to show that the medical practice as exercised by the Church fully recognizes the classical medical science of that era, which in this light can be seen to offer what has been described as "holistic medicine". Elements of different categories of miracles are reported, with a special emphasis on miracles in specific groups, such as women, children and elderly people, along with examples from various different nosological entities, such as psychiatric, neurological and ophthalmological miracles and transplantations. The reports of miracles, in combination with the progress of medicine in Byzantium provide evidence that lay people in the Byzantine epoch had a very deep concern for the body and its cure from pathological conditions and diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE Asymptomatic bacteriuria (AB) is common in the elderly. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of AB in the elderly and to characterize the organisms. METHOD Urinary cultures were performed on asymptomatic adults aged >60 years from October 2002 to July 2003. Urine specimens were collected from residents of nursing homes, community residents and hospitalized patients. When criteria for AB were met, the isolates were tested for susceptibility. Enterobacteriaceae were tested for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and metallo β-lactamase (MBL) production, and for the presence of integrons. Statistical analysis was carried out with statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) v 12.0 for Windows. RESULTS Urine specimens were collected from 638 patients, with a mean age of 71.08±9.19 years, of whom 186 were nursing home and 323 community residents, and 129 were hospitalized in a department of internal medicine. The prevalence of AB was 13.6% for the community, 30.6% for nursing-home residents and 27.9% for hospitalized patients. The most common cause of AB was E. coli followed by enterococci, P. mirabilis and K. pneumoniae. ESBL production was detected in 21.1% of nursing-home Enterobacteriaceae were isolated from 25.8% of nosocomial isolates while no ESBL-producing organisms were found in the community isolates. None of the examined organisms produced MBL. Integrons were present in 22.3% of Enterobacteriaceae; 11.1% in community isolates, 23.5% in nursing-home isolates and 36% in nosocomial isolates. Integron-containing Enterobacteriaceae were more often resistant to antimicrobial agents. Multidrug resistant phenotype (70.8% vs 8.9%; p<0.001; OR: 24.99; 95% CI: 7.73-80.76) and ESBL production (50% vs 6.3%; p<0.001; OR: 14.8; 95% CI: 4.42-49.56) were more common in integron-carrying isolates. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of AB in nursing-home residents was similar to that of hospitalized patients. More than 1/5 of Enterobacteriaceae in nursing-home residents and hospitalized patients produced ESBLs whereas none of the community isolates produced these enzymes. Integrons were detected in some samples of all the bacterial populations causing AB. The highest rate of integrons was observed in hospital isolates, but there is a reservoir in the community. The presence of integrons was associated with multidrug resistance. Patients with AB in the nursing-home environment should be managed as nosocomial patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]