Validation of the Greek maternal adjustment and maternal attitudes scale for assessing early postpartum adjustment

The Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale is a self- administered scale, designed for use in primary care settings to identify postpartum maternal adjustment problems regarding body image, sex, somatic symptoms, and marital relationships. Women were recruited within four weeks of giving birth. Responses to the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale were compared for agreement with responses to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a gold standard. Psychometric measurements included: reliability coefficients, explanatory factor analysis, and confirmatory analysis by linear structural relations. A receiver operating characteristic analysis was carried out to evaluate the global functioning of the scale. Of 300 mothers screened, 121 (40.7%) were experiencing difficulties in maternal adjustment and maternal attitudes. Scores on the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale correlated well with those on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The internal consistency of the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale, Greek version-tested using Cronbach's alpha coefficient-was 0.859, and that of Guttman split-half coefficient was 0.820. Findings confirmed the multidimensionality of the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale, demonstrating a six-factor structure. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.610, and the logistic estimate for the threshold score of 57/58 fitted the model sensitivity at 68% and model specificity at 64.6%. Data confirmed that the Greek version of the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale is a reliable and valid screening tool for both clinical practice and research purposes to detect postpartum adjustment difficulties.     

Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) infection in radiation-induced oral mucositis

Goal of work The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence of herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) infection in mucositis during head and neck cancer radiotherapy.Patients and methods Sixty patients with malignant head and neck tumor, eligible to receive radiotherapy, who were referred to the Dental Oncology Unit, entered the study. Sixteen patients (26.6%) received concomitant chemotherapy. Mucositis was recorded weekly. Smears taken from the ulcers of mucositis grade 2, or 3, or 4 were stained with Papanicolaou and alkaline phosphatase/antialkaline phosphatase immunocytochemical method to identify HSV-1.Main results Forty-eight of all 60 patients developed ulcerative mucositis. Smear was available from 29 of 48 patients with ulcerations. HSV-1 infection was identified in 14 of 29 smears available (48.2%). Mucositis healed or was reduced after 1 week of antiviral treatment in 11 of those 14 HSV-1-positive patients; 3 patients responded to 1 g/day of valacyclovir, 7–2 g/day, and 1 patient responded to i.v. acyclovir. Ulcerations recurred after quitting antivirals. Three patients did not respond to 1 g/day of valacyclovir. No HSV-1-negative patient responded to acyclovir (P=0.000).Conclusion HSV-1 was isolated from 14 of 29 available smears taken from 48 patients with ulcerative mucositis. The incidence of HSV-1 infection during radiotherapy was estimated as being 14 of all 48 patients at risk (29.1%). Healing or reduction in the grade of mucositis after antivirals in HSV-1 positive patients, combined with the negative response to antivirals in HSV-1 negative patients, denoted that HSV-1 infection was a component of ulcerative radiation mucositis in those HSV-1-positive patients.     

Efficacy of panitumumab in older patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: a retrospective analysis using the database of the Hellenic Oncology Research Group (HORG)

Background

Although colorectal cancer (CRC) is a disease of the older patients, older patients are under-represented from randomized trials. Herein we conducted a retrospective analysis for the effect of panitumumab in the management of older patients (≥65?years) patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC) in the Hellenic Oncology Research Group's (HORG) database.

SDH‐deficient renal cell carcinoma: A case report associated with a novel germline mutation

The highly syndromic nature of succinate dehydrogenase‐deficient RCCs constitutes their active surveillance and molecular profiling the alpha and omega.     

Inter-individual variability in redox and performance responses after antioxidant supplementation: A randomized double blind crossover study

Aim

We aimed to investigate the inter-individual variability in redox and physiological responses of antioxidant-deficient subjects after antioxidant supplementation.

Methods

Two hundred individuals were sorted by plasma vitamin C levels. A low vitamin C group (n = 22) and a control group (n = 22) were compared in terms of oxidative stress and performance. Subsequently, the low vitamin C group received for 30 days vitamin C (1 g) or placebo, in randomized, double-blind, crossover fashion, and the effects were examined through a mixed-effects model, while individual responses were calculated.

Results

The low vitamin C group exhibited lower vitamin C (−25 μmol/L; 95%CI[−31.7, −18.3]; p < 0.001), higher F₂-isoprostanes (+17.1 pg/mL; 95%CI[6.5, 27.7]; p = 0.002), impaired VO_2max (−8.2 mL/kg/min; 95%CI[−12.8, −3.6]; p < 0.001) and lower isometric peak torque (−41.5 Nm; 95%CI[−61.8, −21.2]; p < 0.001) compared to the control group. Regarding antioxidant supplementation, a significant treatment effect was found in vitamin C (+11.6 μmol/L; 95%CI[6.8, 17.1], p < 0.001), F₂-isoprostanes (−13.7 pg/mL; 95%CI[−18.9, −8.4], p < 0.001), VO_2max (+5.4 mL/kg/min; 95%CI[2.7, 8.2], p = 0.001) and isometric peak torque (+18.7; 95%CI[11.8, 25.7 Nm], p < 0.001). The standard deviation for individual responses (SDir) was greater than the smallest worthwhile change (SWC) for all variables indicating meaningful inter-individual variability. When a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was set, inter-individual variability remained for VO_2max, but not for isometric peak torque.

Conclusion

The proportion of response was generally high after supplementation (82.9%–95.3%); however, a few participants did not benefit from the treatment. This underlines the potential need for personalized nutritional interventions in an exercise physiology context.