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Biomedical subjects

C Papaioannou

Publications and source records attributed to C Papaioannou.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Yersinia enterocolitica endocarditis: case report and literature review.

Endocarditis is a rare manifestation of Yersinia enterocolitica infection. The case of a 45-year-old man who presented with high fever and in whom prosthetic valve Yersinia enterocolitica endocarditis was diagnosed is described. The patient was successfully treated with ceftriaxone plus tobramycin, as proved by negative cultures of the prosthesis removed at the end of therapy. Including the patient reported, only 12 cases of Yersinia enterocolitica endocarditis have been published to date, two of which describe prosthetic cardiac valve endocarditis. The clinical characteristics do not distinguish septicemia from involvement limited to the cardiac valves. Diagnosis, however, has been improved by progress in echocardiography. Prognosis is grave but can be ameliorated if appropriate antimicrobial agents are administered, i.e. the combination of a third-generation cephalosporin plus an aminoglycoside. Fluroquinolones may also constitute an attractive therapeutic alternative.

Ceftriaxone↗
PubMed1991

The role of the hepatitis delta virus in acute hepatitis and in chronic liver disease in Greece.

HDV infection has been documented in Greece for more than 3 decades. Its epidemiology appears to be changing over the years with a decrease in the general Greek population and an invasion of the delta virus in the community of drug addicts. For the time being HDV infection has a low endemicity in the general greek population, it has been detected with high endemicity in a rural community and it is spreading epidemically in the new, increasing population of Greek drug addicts. Chronic HDV infection has been detected constantly over 20 years with a higher frequency in HBsAg positive chronic liver disease (19.5-33.5%) than in asymptomatic HBsAg carriers with normal liver enzymes (5.9-9.2%). However, in the community of Archangelos, where HDV infection is highly endemic, and probably also all over Greece, the total number of chronic HDV carriers with minimal or no liver disease appears to be higher than those with severe liver damage. HDV infection plays a significant role in terms of morbidity and mortality from acute and chronic liver disease in Greece but the situation would have been much worse if chronic HDV infection was invariably associated with severe liver damage.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1990

Interferon alfa-2b treatment of HBeAg negative/serum HBV DNA positive chronic active hepatitis type B.

A randomized controlled trial of recombinant interferon alfa-2b has been initiated in patients with chronic active hepatitis who were negative for serum hepatitis B e antigen but positive for serum hepatitis B virus DNA and hepatitis B core antigen expression in the liver. Twenty-five patients received interferon alfa-2b 3 million units thrice weekly for 14-16 weeks and 25 served as untreated controls. Seventeen patients in the treatment and 18 in the control group have already completed a 12-month period of observation. Interferon alfa-2b was well tolerated by all patients. At the end of therapy, complete responses, defined as disappearance of hepatitis B virus DNA from serum and return of alanine aminotransferase to normal, were observed in 10 (59%) of the 17 treated patients compared to none in the control group (p less than 0.01). Twelve months after the onset of interferon alfa-2b therapy, 11 (65%) of the 17 treated patients were complete responders compared to 2 (11%) of 18 in the control group (p less than 0.01). Fifty per cent (4/8) of complete responders to interferon alfa-2b therapy, followed for 16-24 months, experienced reactivations of hepatitis B virus replication with reappearance of serum hepatitis B virus DNA and a return of serum alanine aminotransferase activity. The response to interferon alfa-2b therapy appeared to be independent of pre-treatment serum alanine aminotransferase and hepatitis B virus DNA levels.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1987

Expression of pre-S gene-encoded proteins in liver and serum during chronic hepatitis B virus infection in comparison to other markers of active virus replication.

Pre-S gene-encoded proteins of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) were studied in the liver by immunofluorescence and in serum by radioimmunoassay in 30 patients with chronic HBV infection. The results were compared with molecular hybridization analysis of HBV-DNA in liver and serum, with serum hepatitis B e antigen/antibody (HBeAg/anti-HBe) status and with underlying liver histology. Pre-S peptides were detected in the serum of 11 patients, 10 of whom were positive for serum HBV-DNA and/or liver hepatitis B core antigen. Only 4 of these patients were HBeAg positive. The prevalence of serum pre-S among HBV replicating carriers was 59% (10/17) compared to only 8% (1/13) among those with non-replicating virus (P less than 0.01). All patients with circulating pre-S peptides had active liver disease. Anti-pre-S was detected in the serum of only 4 patients, 3 with integrated HBV-DNA. In contrast to serum findings, pre-S peptides were detected in the liver of all patients with histochemically demonstrable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), regardless of HBV replicative status. HBsAg carriers with integrated HBV-DNA had abundant cytoplasmic pre-S1 and pre-S2 localized in numerous ground-glass hepatocytes. It is concluded that pre-S peptides are usually displayed in the liver simultaneously with histochemically detectable HBsAg; they are secreted in the serum in association with high HBV replication and release of HBV particles, but in the absence of episomal HBV replication, pre-S peptides seem to be largely retained within hepatocytic membranes.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Ventricular extrasystolic arrhythmias in exercise testing. II. Haemodynamic correlations.

Exercise testing (ET) has been used for assessing the arrhythmogenic tendency of myocardium in patients (pts) with coronary heart disease. It has been suggested that coronary patients with left ventricular (LV) dyssynergy are prone to present ventricular extrasystolic arrhythmia (VA) during ET. We studied the functional status of the LV in a group of 25 coronary patients who presented VA during ET (Group A), and compared the results with a group of 87 patients without VA during ET (Group B). No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in end-diastolic pressure, ejection fraction, and extent of dyssynergy of the LV. Furthermore, no significant difference was noted in the extent of development of the collateral circulation.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1983

Effect of IgG and C-reactive protein on complement depletion by monosodium urate crystals.

Complement activity in normal human serum was rapidly depleted by the addition of monosodium urate crystals (MSUC), while the same MSUC preparation had little effect on complement activity in 4 of 8 sera from patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). The degree of complement depletion in the CVID sera correlated with their C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations but not with their concentrations of IgG. MSUC-induced complement depletion in the 4 poorly reactive sera was partially restored by addition of CRP or by normalizing the IgG concentration, but not by addition of IgM or IgA. It is proposed that CRP, an acute phase protein, may play a role in the pathogenesis of gouty arthritis attacks occurring in some patients following surgery or acute physical illness.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

Local hyperhidrosis.

A case of local hyperhidrosis at the ulnar aspect of the left forearm-carpal region with exacerbation, especially during summer, is presented. The sweat function is normal on the remainder of the body. This case is rare, and few similar cases are known in the literature. The possible pathogenetic mechanisms are discussed.

Acetylcholine↗