Periodontitis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic periodontitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic inflammatory diseases in which neutrophilic inflammation plays a major role. There are a few studies showing that these two entities share various predisposing factors and pathogenetic mechanisms; however, a direct connection between them has not yet been achieved. Epidemiology data may also show a connection between the two conditions. Neutrophilic inflammation in periodontitis and COPD is orchestrated by CD8+ lymphocytes and macrophages, leading to the aggregation of neutrophils and causing an imbalance to the proteases and antiproteases equilibrium. Finally, further research is needed to clarify the common pathogenesis of the two diseases to optimize their therapeutic management

Το στοιχείο του ρυθμού στη θεατρική αγωγή

Η εργασία επιχειρεί μια ανάλυση της έννοιας του ρυθμού στο μάθημα της θεατρικής αγωγής. Αρχικά, εξετάζει το ρυθμό υπό το πρίσμα της φιλοσοφίας και της τέχνης. Έπειτα, εστιάζει στο ρυθμό της θεατρικής αγωγής. Διακρίνει τις μορφές του, αναλύει τις εκπαιδευτικές του δυνατότητες και τέλος προτείνει τέσσερα παραδείγματα εφαρμογής του ρυθμού στο μάθημα της θεατρικής αγωγής. Τα παραδείγματα έχουν ως βάση τους Όρνιθες του Αριστοφάνη, την Αντιγόνη του Σοφοκλή, την Ερωφίλη του Γ. Χορτάτση και το ποίημα Τελευταίος Σταθμός του Γ. Σεφέρη.The following thesis attempts an analysis of the concept of rhythm in the theater education course. First it examines rhythm in the light of philosophy and art. Then it focuses on the rhythm of theater education course, distinguishes its forms, analyzes its educational possibilities and finally proposes four examples of the application of rhythm in the course of theater education. The examples are based on Aristophanes' Birds, Sophocles' Antigone, G. Chortatsis' Erofile and G. Seferis' poem Last Station

Transfers to psychiatry through the consultation-liaison psychiatry service: 11 years of experience

BACKGROUND: There are only a few reports on issues related to patient transfer from medical and surgical departments to the psychiatric ward by the consultation-liaison psychiatry service, although it is a common practice. Here, we present a study assessing the factors that influence such transfers. METHOD: We examined the demographic and clinical backgrounds of a group of patients transferred from internal medicine and surgery to the psychiatric ward over an 11-year period. A comparison was made of this data with data obtained from a group of non-transferred patients, also seen by the same consultation-liaison psychiatry service. RESULTS: According to our findings, the typical transferred patient, either female or male, is single, divorced or widowed, lives alone, belongs to a lower socioeconomic class, presents initially with (on the whole) a disturbed and disruptive behaviour, has had a recent suicide attempt with persistent suicidal ideas, suffers from a mood disorder (mainly depressive and dysthymic disorders), has a prior psychiatric history as well as a prior psychiatric inpatient treatment, and a positive diagnosis on axis II of the five axis system used for mental health diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The transfer of a patient to the psychiatric ward is a decision depending on multiple factors. Medical diagnoses do not seem to play a major role in the transfer to the psychiatric ward. From the psychiatric diagnosis, depressive and dysthymic disorders are the most common in the transferred population, whilst the transfer is influenced by social factors regarding the patient, the patient's behaviour, the conditions in the ward she/he is treated in and any recent occurrence(s) that increase the anxiety of the staff

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): reliability and validity of the Greek version

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Problems associated with alcohol abuse are recognised by the World Health Organization as a major health issue, which according to most recent estimations is responsible for 1.4% of the total world burden of morbidity and has been proven to increase mortality risk by 50%. Because of the size and severity of the problem, early detection is very important. This requires easy to use and specific tools. One of these is the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>This study aims to standardise the questionnaire in a Greek population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>AUDIT was translated and back-translated from its original language by two English-speaking psychiatrists. The tool contains 10 questions. A score ≥ 11 is an indication of serious abuse/dependence. In the study, 218 subjects took part: 128 were males and 90 females. The average age was 40.71 years (± 11.34). From the 218 individuals, 109 (75 male, 34 female) fulfilled the criteria for alcohol dependence according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), and presented requesting admission; 109 subjects (53 male, 56 female) were healthy controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Internal reliability (Cronbach α) was 0.80 for the controls and 0.80 for the alcohol-dependent individuals. Controls had significantly lower average scores (t test <it>P </it>< 0.001) when compared to the alcoholics. The questionnaire's sensitivity for scores >8 was 0.98 and its specificity was 0.94 for the same score. For the alcohol-dependent sample 3% scored as false negatives and from the control group 1.8% scored false positives. In the alcohol-dependent sample there was no difference between males and females in their average scores (t test <it>P </it>> 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Greek version of AUDIT has increased internal reliability and validity. It detects 97% of the alcohol-dependent individuals and has a high sensitivity and specificity. AUDIT is easy to use, quick and reliable and can be very useful in detection alcohol problems in sensitive populations.</p