How primary care can contribute to good mental health in adults.

The need for support for good mental health is enormous. General support for good mental health is needed for 100% of the population, and at all stages of life, from early childhood to end of life. Focused support is needed for the 17.6% of adults who have a mental disorder at any time, including those who also have a mental health problem amongst the 30% who report having a long-term condition of some kind. All sectors of society and all parts of the NHS need to play their part. Primary care cannot do this on its own. This paper describes how primary care practitioners can help stimulate such a grand alliance for health, by operating at four different levels - as individual practitioners, as organisations, as geographic clusters of organisations and as policy-makers

Antithrombotics in intracerebral hemorrhage in the era of novel agents and antidotes: A review

Background Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)1 is characterized by the pathological accumulation of blood within the brain parenchyma, most commonly associated with hypertension, arteriovenous malformations, or trauma. However, it can also present in patients receiving antithrombotic drugs, either anticoagulants such as acenocoumarol/warfarin—novel oral anticoagulants or antiplatelets, for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disease. Objective The purpose of this review is to present current bibliographic data regarding ICH irrespective of the cause, as well as post-hemorrhage use of antithrombotic agents. Moreover, this review attempts to provide guidelines concerning the termination, inversion, and of course resumption of antithrombotic therapy. Methods and Materials We reviewed the most recently presented available data for patients who dealt with intracerebral hemorrhagic events while on antithrombotic agents (due to atrial fibrillation, prosthetic mechanical valves or recent/recurrent deep vein thrombosis). Furthermore, we examined and compared the thromboembolic risk, the bleeding risk, as well as the re-bleeding risk in two groups: Patients receiving antithrombotic therapy versus patients not on antithrombotic therapy. Conclusion Antithrombotic therapy is of great importance when indicated, though it does not come without crucial side-effects, such as ICH. Optimal timing of withdrawal, reversal, and resumption of antithrombotic treatment should be determined by a multidisciplinary team consisting of a stroke specialist, a cardiologist, and a neurosurgeon, who will individually approach the needs and risks of each patient. © 2020 Dimitrios Giakoumettis et al

Colchicine in post-operative atrial fibrillation: A review

Post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a frequent entity increasing hospitalization duration, stroke and mortality. In the recent years, a few studies have sought to investigate the potential effect of colchicine in POAF prevention after cardiac surgery or catheter pulmonary vein isolation for AF. In the present review article, we intend to provide a synopsis of clinical practice guidelines, summarize and critically approach current evidence for or against colchicine as a means of POAF prevention. © 2017 Bentham Science Publishers

Targeted Proteomic Analysis of Patients with Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm

Background: There is a need for clinical markers to aid in the detection of individuals at risk of harboring an ascending thoracic aneurysm (ATAA) or developing one in the future. Objectives: To our knowledge, ATAA remains without a specific biomarker. This study aims to identify potential biomarkers for ATAA using targeted proteomic analysis. Methods: In this study, 52 patients were divided into three groups depending on their ascending aorta diameter: 4.0–4.5 cm (N = 23), 4.6–5.0 cm (N = 20), and >5.0 cm (N = 9). A total of 30 controls were in-house populations ethnically matched to cases without known or visible ATAA-related symptoms and with no ATAA familial history. Before the debut of our study, all patients provided medical history and underwent physical examination. Diagnosis was confirmed by echocardiography and angio-computed tomography (CT) scans. Targeted-proteomic analysis was conducted to identify possible biomarkers for the diagnosis of ATAA. Results: A Kruskal–Wallis test revealed that C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5), defensin beta 1 (HBD1), intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1), interleukin-8 (IL8), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGFB1) expressions are significantly increased in ATAA patients in comparison to control subjects with physiological aorta diameter (p < 0.0001). The receiver-operating characteristic analysis showed that the area under the curve values for CCL5 (0.84), HBD1 (0.83) and ICAM1 (0.83) were superior to that of the other analyzed proteins. Conclusions: CCL5, HBD1 and ICAM1 are very promising biomarkers with satisfying sensitivity and specificity that could be helpful in stratifying risk for the development of ATAA. These biomarkers may assist in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients at risk of developing ATAA. This retrospective study is very encouraging; however, further in-depth studies may be worthwhile to investigate the role of these biomarkers in the pathogenesis of ATAA. © 2023 by the authors

Clinical and imaging evaluation of the response to intravenous steroids in patients with Graves’ orbitopathy and analysis on who requires additional therapy

Theodora Tsirouki,1 Alexandra Bargiota,2 Stelios Tigas,3 Agathi Vasileiou,2 Eftichia Kapsalaki,4 Zoe Giotaki,3 Ioannis Asproudis,5 Agathokles Tsatsoulis,3 Georgios Koukoulis,2 Evangelia E Tsironi1 1Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Larissa, Larissa, 2Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital of Larissa, Larissa, 3Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, 4Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital of Larissa, Larissa, 5Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an individualized steroid regimen in patients with moderate-to-severe Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) by monitoring clinical and imaging parameters. Methods: In total, 47 patients with active, moderate-to-severe GO were enrolled in this study. All the patients received the proposed treatment regimen by European Group on GO of 4.5 g of intravenous (IV) methylprednisolone for 12 weeks. At the end of the IV treatment, patients with persistent active GO (Group 1) who were assessed by clinical examination and orbital imaging with short tau inversion recovery-sequence magnetic resonance imaging (STIR MRI) received additional treatment with oral prednisolone, and those with inactive GO (Group 2) received no further treatment. Results: Of the 42 patients who completed the study, 22 (52.4%) patients formed Group 1 and 20 (47.6%) patients Group 2. At the 12th week, the overall response to IV treatment was 76.2%, and clinical activity score (CAS) improvement was 69%. At the 24th week, the overall response was 92.8%, and CAS improvement was 97.6%, without statistically significant difference in CAS and total eye score between these two groups (P=0.157 and P=0.856, respectively). Ophthalmic manifestations were improved, being absent or minimal in 78.6% of patients at the 24th week follow-up. Recurrence of disease activity occurred in 9.5% of patients up to 24 weeks after the completion of treatment, and major adverse events occurred in 6.4% of patients. Conclusion: In patients with moderate-to-severe GO, IV steroid treatment, followed by oral treatment, when needed, is an effective regimen with low rates of adverse events and recurrences. STIR MRI is a significant tool for recognizing patients who need additional steroid treatment. Keywords: Graves’ orbitopathy, magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, glucocorticoids&nbsp