57 research outputs found
The Anatomy in Greek Iatrosophia during the Ottoman domination era
The knowledge of Anatomy during the Ottoman domination in Greece has not been widely studied. Medical knowledge of the time can be retrieved from folk and erudite books called Iatrosophia. The majority of these books focused on empirical diagnostics and therapeutics. However, a small quota of these Iatrosophia includes important information about anatomy. The interest in anatomy appears only after the Neohellenic Enlightenment (1750-1821) and has been associated to the scholarly background of the 1821 revolution against the Ottomans. At the same time, anatomy has been discussed by various authors in diverse contexts. All in all, it appears that a consensus on the importance of anatomy has been established among Greek scholars in the late 18th century, leading to the translation of current anatomical knowledge to the contemporary language and literature. © 2021 Zerbinis Publications. All rights reserved
Does long-term group psychoeducation of parents of individuals with schizophrenia help the family as a system? A quasi-experimental study
A chronic illness like schizophrenia seriously disrupts family functioning in various ways that can be addressed through family psychoeducational interventions in routine clinical services, an approach that has not received proper research attention. We pre- and post-tested four sets of parents of individuals with schizophrenia who participated in a long-term group psychoeducational intervention (treatment group) and four sets of parents of individuals with schizophrenia who received standard outpatient services (clinical control group), using three self-reported questionnaires to measure family functioning (Family Assessment Device), family atmosphere (Family Rituals Scale), and family burden (Family Burden Scale). At pre-test, there were no systematic differences between the two groups in any of the parameters assessed. At post-test, within and across groups, comparisons revealed significant improvements (under cut-off scores) in the mean scores of the treatment group (p < 0.05) in all three parameters under study. Our findings provide pilot evidence that intensive group parent psychoeducation is an efficient and efficacious treatment intervention for improvement of systemic properties of families, such as family functioning, family atmosphere, and family burden. © 2015 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannan antibodies and antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies in Greek patients with inflammatory bowel disease
OBJECTIVES: The combined measurement of perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (pANCA) and anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannan antibodies (ASCA) has recently been suggested as a valuable diagnostic approach in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to assess the value of detecting pANCA and ASCA in the differentiation between ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) in a Greek population with IBD. METHODS: Sera were collected from 157 patients with IBD (97 with UC, 56 with CD, and four with indeterminate colitis) and 150 healthy controls. Determination of pANCA was performed by a standard indirect immunofluorescence technique on ethanol-fixed granulocytes and ASCA by an ELISA assay. RESULTS: In patients with UC, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the pANCA test was 67%, 84%, 93%, and 46% respectively. These values did not change significantly when the combination of positive pANCA and negative ASCA was used. ASCA test in diagnosing CD yielded a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 39%, 89%, 54%, and 81%. The combination of pANCA negative and ASCA positive increased the positive predictive value to 77% and it was associated with small bowel disease. CONCLUSIONS: A positive pANCA test in Greek patients has a diagnostic value in confirming a diagnosis of UC. Measurement of pANCA and ASCA together has a rather limited value in the differential diagnosis between UC and CD but may be of help in studying disease heterogeneity. (C) 2001 by Am. Cell. of Gastroenterology
Changing pattern of cytokeratin 7 and 20 expression from normal epithelium to intestinal metaplasia of the gastric mucosa and gastroesophageal junction
It is currently unclear whether intestinal
metaplasia at the esophagogastric junction and in the
distal esophagus represent a continuum of the same
underlying disease process, i.e., gastroesophageal reflux,
or constitute different entities with a diff e r e n t
pathogenesis. Biopsies below the Z line might show
specialized epithelium in some patients and the question
is whether this is another form of short segment Barrett’s
esophagus or whether it is related to a generalized
atrophic process of the stomach. Data from recent
studies regarding the expression of cytokeratin CK7 and
CK20 in intestinal metaplasia (IM) found at the
gastroesophageal junction are conflicting.
Prompted by these data we undertook the present
study: a) to evaluate the expression of CK7 and CK20 in
IM of the gastric cardia and to compare the findings with
those in patients with Barrett’s esophagus and IM of the
gastric corpus and antrum mucosa; and b) to evaluate the
immunophenotype of non-intestinalized cardiac mucosa
and to compare it with that of normal gastric epithelium.
We studied the expression of CK7 and CK20 on
biopsy specimens from patients with long-seg m e n t
B a r r e t t ’s esophagus (n=17) and surgical resection and
biopsy specimens of gastric cardia (n=15), corpus (n=14)
and antrum (n=22) from patients with histological evidence of IM. Eighty-four biopsy specimens from 42
patients (antrum n=15, corpus n=20, cardia n=7) without
evidence of IM were studied as a control group.
We observed an immunophenotype characterised by
diffuse moderate to strong CK7 staining on the surface
and crypt epithelium combined with strong CK20
staining on the surface and superficial part of the crypts
in 94.1% (16/17) of the cases with long-se g m e n t
Barrett’s esophagus, but in none of the 36 cases with IM in distal stomach (antrum and corpus). IM in the gastric
cardia expressed the immunophenotype seen in IM of
the gastric mucosa in 93.3% (14/15) of the cases. On the
other hand, normal cardiac epithelium expressed patchy
strong CK7 staining on the surface epithelium and on
both, superficial and deep parts of the pits combined
with patchy strong CK20 staining on the surf a c e
epithelium and superficial pits, a feature permitting
distinction of the normal cardiac epithelium from those
of the normal gastric antrum and corpus epithelium.
We conclude that the expression of cy t o keratins 7
and 20 can be used to distinguish the origin of IM of the
gastroesophageal junction. The CK7/20
immunophenotype of IM in the gastric cardia closely
resembles that of the IM in the gastric antrum and corpus
and is different from IM in long-segment Barrett's
esophagus. In contrast, the CK7/20 immunophenotype of
the cardiac epithelium is different from that of the gastric
antrum and corpus mucosa, suggesting that cardiac
epithelium might not be a native normal g a s t r i c
epithelium but one that is acquired as a consequence of
longstanding inflammation. Changing pattern of CK7
and CK20 expression from normal to intestinalized
epithelium suggests that IM arising from cardiac
epithelium might have distinctive features
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