Introduction Non-specific chronic neck pain (NSCNP) is a musculoskeletal disorder that affects 45%-54% of the general population. There is a strong correlation between patient-reported pain and mechanical pain pressure threshold (PPT) measured with an algometer. Purpose This study aims to investigate the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Commander algometer in Greek NSCNP patients, in an urban primary care setting. Methods Thirty-three patients (22 women and 11 men) suffering from NSCNP (>3 months), the majority (42.4%) between the ages of 50 years and 59 years and overweight, were measured bilaterally both at the neck (mastoid, trapezius head-insertion and mid-portion, C5-C6 facet, insertion of levator scapula) and at the control areas (mid-deltoid and tibialis anterior) using the Commander algometer. Measurements were taken twice over a span of six days, by two raters, in a primary care setting. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) statistics were used as measures of reliability (p = 0.05). Results Intra-rater reliability was \"moderate to good\" for both raters. ICC values for PPT at the seven bilaterally measured sites varied between 0.67 and 0.86 for the first rater (p ≤ 0.001) and 0.64 and 0.82 for the second rater (p ≤ 0.003). The inter-rater reliability was \"moderate to excellent\" (ICC = 0.68-0.92) in the first measurement (T1) and \"moderate to good\" (ICC = 0.68 to 0.89) in the second measurement (T2). Conclusion This study supports the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Commander algometer in detecting reliably the mechanical PPT, in Greek NSCNP patients, as measured according to the procedures and methodology followed throughout this study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS)-assisted colposcopy in detecting CIN2+ Greek women towards standalone colposcopy, HPV mRNA testing, and p16/Ki67 immunostaining.
METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study at the Cervical Pathology Clinic of the 2nd Obstetrics-Gynecology University Department of Hippokration Hospital Thessaloniki involving 316 patients from January 2022 to August 2023. All participants provided liquid-based cervical samples for cytology, HPV mRNA testing, and p16/Ki67 immunostaining.
METHODS: Subsequently, participants underwent both standalone colposcopy and EIS/ZedScan-assisted colposcopy, followed by cervical punch biopsies.
RESULTS: The incorporation of EIS significantly enhanced the sensitivity of colposcopy, increasing it from 54.17% to 100%, equivalent to that of HPV mRNA testing and p16/Ki67 immunostaining, while achieving a high specificity (95.45%). The specificities observed with EIS/ZedScan-assisted and standalone colposcopy were notably superior to those of HPV-related biomarkers (HPV mRNA test and p16/Ki67 immunostaining). When compared to standalone colposcopy, HPV mRNA testing, and p16/Ki67 immunostaining, EIS/ZedScan-assisted colposcopy demonstrated the most favorable combination of Positive and Negative Predictive Values, at 90.57% and 100%, respectively. The inclusion of EIS/ZedScan in colposcopy led to the detection of 44 additional cases of true CIN2+ (100% of the total CIN2+ confirmed histologically) that were missed by standalone colposcopy. This discovery suggests a 45.83% increase in the detection of CIN2+ cases.
CONCLUSIONS: The integration of EIS with colposcopy has demonstrated effectiveness in detecting cervical lesions, resulting in a significant detection increase of CIN2+ cases while offering optimal levels of sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values for CIN2+ detection.

In clinical settings, standing height measurement is often difficult to perform due to patients\' inability to stand upright. Height prediction equations derived from measurements of the length of other body segments have been published; however, they are not readily applicable to all populations since ethnic differences affect the relationship between standing height and body segment length. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the accuracy of height prediction using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) height predictive equations among Greek patients and to develop new, nationally representative equations. The study population consisted of 1198 Greek adult outpatients able to stand upright without assistance and without medical conditions that affected their height. Standing height, ulna length, knee height and demi-span measurements were obtained from 599 males and 599 females. Patients were stratified into age groups of <55 and ≥55 years, <60 and ≥60 years and <65 and ≥65 years according to the categories indicated by the MUST for height prediction from alternative measurements. There were positive correlations between standing height and ulna length and knee height and demi-span length (p < 0.001) in both sexes and all age categories. A strong correlation was observed between the measured and predicted standing height using ulna length (rho = 0.870, p < 0.001), knee height (rho = 0.923, p < 0.001) and demi-span length (rho = 0.906, p < 0.001). The average difference between the MUST indicative equations\' height predictions from alternative measurements and actual height was -3.04 (-3.32, -2.76), -1.21 (-1.43, -0.988) and 2.16 (1.92, 2.41), respectively. New height prediction equations for Greek patients were identified, with the predicted values closer to the measured standing heights than those predicted with the MUST indicative equations for height prediction from alternative measurements.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic parameters of electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) via ZedScan, a device that measures spectra to differentiate between normal and abnormal cervical tissues, when used as an adjunct to colposcopies in the diagnosis of HSILs/CIN2+ in Greek women with abnormal referral cytology toward colposcopy alone and HPV mRNA-testing.
METHODS: This study analyzed 86 women, patients of the Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology Clinic of 2nd Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki at Hippokration General Hospital, between January 2022 and September 2022. During the visits, women were subjected to cytology, colposcopy alone and then with EIS/ZedScan and histological sampling.
RESULTS: Common use of colposcopies and EIS/ZedScan allowed detecting an additional 14 cases of CIN2+ (16.2%) that colposcopy alone failed to report. EIS enhanced the sensitivity of colposcopy from 80.65% to 100% equal with that of HPV-mRNA test while retaining a high specificity (94.74%) which is much higher than specificity of HPV mRNA-testing (65.45%). EIS-assisted colposcopy had the highest value combination of positive and negative predictive values (96.15% and 100%) compared to colposcopy alone (100% and 75%) and HPV mRNA-testing (72.46% and 100%).
CONCLUSIONS: Colposcopies performed with EIS/ZedScan demonstrated effectiveness in the diagnosing of CIN2+ leading to a significant increase in the number of CIN2+ that would have been missed if only colposcopy was applied especially in women with LSIL referral cytology. EIS/ZedScan seems to possess the ideal diagnostic threshold for sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values for CIN2+ compared to colposcopy alone and HPV mRNA-testing.

UNASSIGNED: Catastrophizing is an important psychological construct in mediating the behavioral response toward pain.
UNASSIGNED: The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) in Greek clinical population.
UNASSIGNED: The scale was administered in 376 patients with chronic cervical and lumbar pain. Test-retest reliability, internal consistency (Cronbach α ) and concurrent validity were assessed. Exploratory (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to test the factorial validity of the hypothesized three factor structure.
UNASSIGNED: The PCS factors suggested high levels of test-retest reliability, whereas Cronbachs\' α values were acceptable. The EFA yielded a three-factor solution and indicated a marginal fit to the data. CFA procedures indicated a rather acceptable fit to the data. The concurrent validity of the instrument was confirmed.
UNASSIGNED: PCS seems to be a reliable and valid instrument in Greek patients with chronic cervical and lumbar pain.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from different ethnic groups present elevated levels of antibodies against Proteus mirabilis. This finding implicates P. mirabilis in the development of RA. The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of P. mirabilis in the etiopathogenesis of RA in Greek RA patients. In this study, 63 patients with RA and 38 healthy controls were included. Class-specific antibodies IgM, IgG, and IgA against three human cross-reactive and non-cross-reactive synthetic peptides from P. mirabilis-hemolysin (HpmB), urease C (UreC), and urease F (UreF)-were performed in all subjects, using the ELISA method. RA patients had elevated levels of IgM, IgG, and IgA antibodies against HpmB and UreC Proteus peptide which are significantly different compared to healthy controls: p = 0.005, p < 0.001, and p = 0.003 and p = 0.007, p = 0.002, and p < 0.001, correspondingly. Also, elevated levels of IgM, IgG, and IgA antibodies against the UreF Proteus peptide-which are non-cross-reactive with human tissue antigens-were observed and their significant difference compared to healthy controls (p = 0.007, p < 0.001, p < 0.001). Anti-peptide antibodies in RA patients showed a significant correlation with rheumatoid factors (Rf), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP), especially when patients were divided into subgroups according to the receiving treatment. Greek RA patients present elevated levels of antibodies against P. mirabilis antigenic epitopes, such as in North European populations, albeit Greek RA patients presenting the cross-reaction antigen in a low percentage. These results indicate that P. mirabilis through the molecular mimicry mechanism leads to inflammation and damage of the joints in RA.

A strong and consistent association has been reported between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and oropharyngeal cancer, whereas a similar link has not yet been clarified in oral and laryngeal cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between HPV infection and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in Greek patients. Cytological or tissue specimens from 172 cases patients with HNSCC and cytological specimens from 91 control subjects were analyzed for HPV DNA detection and genotyping using a microarray-based assay. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for the association between the presence of HPV infection and HNSCC for each of the tumor site, after adjustment for potential confounders. The adjusted ORs for positivity to high-risk HPV infection for oropharyngeal and laryngeal cancer were 20.3 (95% CI: 1.7-250.1) and 22.8 (95% CI: 2.5-206.2), respectively. High-risk HPV infection was not significantly associated with oral cancer. HPV infection was independently associated with poorly differentiated tumors (OR = 2.8; 95% CI: 1.1-7.5). Our results suggest a strong association of high-risk HPV infection with oropharyngeal and laryngeal cancer. J. Med. Virol. 89:170-176, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

OBJECTIVE: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been considered a potential risk factor for the development of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The purpose of the present study was to investigate HPV infection and high-risk HPV E6/E7 mRNA expression in SCC of the oral tongue in 53 Greek patients.
METHODS: Fifty-three biopsies were collected from patients with SCC of the oral tongue and tested for HPV DNA and E6/E7 mRNA expression.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of HPV DNA was 11.3% (6/53), while high-risk HPV DNA was found in 7.5% (4/53) of SCC of the oral tongue. E6/E7 mRNA expression was observed in 9.4% (5/53) samples examined. HPV 16 was the commonest genotype identified by both DNA and RNA assays. A total of 28.3% (15/53) of the patients were non-smokers and non-drinkers. HPV infection was strongly associated with abstinence from tobacco and alcohol (p=0.013).
CONCLUSIONS: The presence of high-risk HPV E6/E7 mRNA expression suggests that HPV may be implicated in the pathogenesis of SCC of the oral tongue.

BACKGROUND: Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare genetic disease characterized by considerable heterogeneity. Fifteen subtypes are currently recognised and deletions of the Fanconi anemia complementation group A (FANCA) gene account for more than 65% of FA cases. We report on the results from a cohort of 166 patients referred to the Department of Medical Genetics of Athens University for genetic investigation after the clinical suspicion of FA.
METHODS: For clastogen-induced chromosome damage, cultures were set up with the addition of mitomycin C (MMC) and diepoxybutane (DEB), respectively. Following a positive cytogenetic result, molecular analysis was performed to allow identification of causative mutations in the FANCA gene.
RESULTS: A total of 13/166 patients were diagnosed with FA and 8/13 belonged to the FA-A subtype. A novel point mutation was identified in exon 26 of FANCA gene.
CONCLUSIONS: In our study 62% of FA patients were classified in the FA-A subtype and a point mutation in exon 26 was noted for the first time.

OBJECTIVE: An open-label, prospective, uncontrolled study created to investigate clinical response, serological changes and side effects in Greek patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), after B-cell depletion with rituximab.
METHODS: Patients with high disease activity (disease activity score [DAS]-28 > 5.1) were selected for treatment with rituximab and received two infusions, 1 gr each, 2 weeks apart. Different disease parameters (visual analog scale, DAS-28, C-reactive protein [CRP], erythrocyte sedimentation rate, health assessment questionnaire, complement (C3), C4, rheumatoid factor [RF], anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody [anti-CCP], swollen joint count, tender joint count, immunoglobulin M [IgM], IgG, IgA) were performed at base line, 2, 4, and 6 months post-treatment. Response was defined according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria.
RESULTS: Seventeen patients received therapy. Treatment led to a reduction in various disease parameters. ACR20 was achieved in 41.11% of patients by week 8, 52.94% by week 16, and 82.35% by week 24. ACR50 was achieved in 5.88% by week 8, 41.17% by week 16, and 64.7% by week 24. ACR70 was achieved only by week 24 in 23.52% of patients. Statistical analysis has shown no differences in clinical response, between RF positive/negative patients, and anti-CCP-positive/negative patients, while decline of RF was better correlated with reduction of DAS-28 than with anti-CCP.
CONCLUSIONS: Rituximab is a well tolerated and effective treatment in RA. Response was not correlated to RF or anti-CCP positivity. Decline of RF was associated with clinical response and reduction of DAS-28 and CRP.