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D Alexiou

Publications and source records attributed to D Alexiou.

72 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Intrafamilial clustering of hepatitis A.

The intrafamilial clustering of hepatitis A virus infections (HAV) in families with an index case of sporadic hepatitis A was studied. Four hundred and three family members (84.3%) of 113 children with acute hepatitis A admitted to the Paediatric Department of the West Attica Hospital were included in the study. Epidemiological data and serum samples were collected within 1 week after the patient's admittance to the hospital. Enzyme-immunoassays were used to detect recent or past HAV infections. The attack rate of HAV infections in susceptible family members was found to be similar in susceptible fathers (16.6%, 1/6), mothers (23.5%, 4/17) and siblings (18.1%, 37/204). The infected family members belonged to 22 families. The attack rate was found to be higher in families with a lower immunity level, while the social class was not found to play an important role. The administration of ISG prevented further spread of hepatitis A among those susceptible. Our data suggest that immunoglobulin for HAV prevention should be given not only to children but also to parents and other adult family members in areas with a low prevalence of anti-HAV among adults.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Expression patterns of the novel catenin p120cas in gastrointestinal cancers.

p120cas is involved in signal transduction upon src or growth factor stimulation as well as in E-cadherin mediated cell adhesion and may play an important role in carcinogenesis. In this study, we evaluated immunohistochemically the expression and cellular localization of p120cas in 40 gastric, 43 colorectal and 20 pancreatic carcinomas, and examined the relationship between p120cas expression and pathological features. Altered p120cas expression was observed in 70%, 65% and 60% of gastric, colorectal and pancreatic cancers, respectively. The most common abnormality was of cytoplasmic expression associated with loss of membranous distribution found in 37% of gastric, in 25% of colorectal and in 25% of pancreatic cancers. Heterogeneous staining was noted in 15%, 19% and 20%, and complete loss of expression in 18%, 21% and 15% of gastric, colorectal and pancreatic cancers, respectively. There was no correlation between p120cas staining pattern and tumour grade or stage. Aberrant expression of p120cas which may reflect changes in signal transduction pathways occurs frequently in human malignancies.

Catenins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Carcinoid of the ampulla of Vater: presentation of a new case.

The appendix is the most common location for carcinoid tumors within the gastrointestinal tract. Carcinoid tumors of the ampulla of Vater is an extremely rare entity; only 71 cases of carcinoid of the ampulla of Vater have been reported in the literature to date. The clinical picture is non-specific, and endoscopy is the main diagnostic procedure; but large and deep biopsies are often needed to verify the histological nature of the tumor. Surgery is the treatment of choice. We report a new case of this rare tumor, and a review of the literature concerning the clinical findings, diagnosis, therapeutic challenge and results.

Ampulla of Vater↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Role of cyclic AMP in gastric secretion. Mechanism of action of pentagastrin and cimetidine].

Studies were conducted to explore the effects of pentagastrin, cimetidine, cimetidine with pentagastrin and atropine with pentagastrin, on the gastric acidity and on cAMP accumulation in gastric fundic mucosa in six healthy human beings. Following gastroscopy, gastric juice was collected, and total gastric acidity was measured. Biopsies of fundic mucosa were obtained for estimation of cAMP. All these measurements were taken place before (control) and after the administration of the medicaments. Pentagastrin increased total gastric acidity and cAMP accumulation. Cimetidine decreased both respectively. Combination of cimetidine with pentagastrin and atropine with pentagastrin increased total gastric acidity and cAMP concentration of gastric mucosa. An excellent linear correlation was also found between gastric acidity and fundic mucosal cAMP. These results support the hypothesis of a regulatory role for pentagastrin and cimetidine in total gastric acidity via a cAMP dependent mechanism in gastric mucosa in human. Our findings give a strong indication in Grossman's proposal that the parietal cell has multiple receptors sites.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Aberrant E-cadherin expression associated with loss of differentiation and advanced stage in human pancreatic cancer.

E-cadherin is a cell-cell adhesion molecule involved in tumour invasion and metastasis. We evaluated E-cadherin expression immunohistochemically in 43 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of pancreatic cancer and investigated its relationship to histopathological features. In non-cancerous pancreatic cells E-cadherin immunoreactivity was localized at the cell membrane, particularly at the intercellular junctions. Abnormal E-cadherin expression was found in 18 (42%) cases. A significantly higher proportion of poorly-differentiated tumours (71%) showed abnormal E-cadherin expression compared with moderately (50%) and well (19%) differentiated tumours (P = 0.037). There was a significant correlation between abnormal E-cadherin expression and lymph node involvement (P = 0.013), the presence of distant metastases (P = 0.034) and advanced tumour stage (P = 0.025). These findings suggest that loss of normal E-cadherin expression is involved in the progression of pancreatic cancer.

Cadherins↗