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Background: We have documented a high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with glaucoma. Objective: To evaluate the effect of H pylori eradication on the 2 most commonly used glaucoma parameters: intraocular pressure and visual field. Methods: A total of 41 patients with glaucoma and 30 age-matched anemic controls underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopies and gastric mucosal biopsies to detect the presence of H pylori infection by histologic analysis and rapid urease test (CLOtest; Delta West, Draper, Utah). Saliva samples were also tested by CLOtest. Serum anti--H pylori--specific IgG was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Helicobacter pylori--positive patients received a triple eradication regimen (omeprazole, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin treatment), and all patients were observed for 2 years while remaining under the same antiglaucoma therapy. Results: Helicobacter pylori was detected in 88% of glaucoma cases and in 47% of controls (P Conclusion: Helicobacter pylori eradication may positively influence glaucoma parameters, suggesting a possible causal link between H pylori and glaucoma.

The combination of Creative Dance and BrainDance within the context of physical education could be a promising innovation. This combined program can be implemented in primary school to help students achieve a better and more holistic assessment of their Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), covering aspects of physical, emotional, social, and mental functioning and well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact that a combined Creative Dance and BrainDance program based on the Laban Theory of Movement Analysis has on HRQoL perceptions of primary school students when this program is implemented within the context of the physical education curriculum in primary school. For this purpose, an eight-week educational intervention was designed combining Creative Dance and BrainDance into one single program. The survey sample consisted of 32 fifth- and sixth-grade primary school students. The Kidscreen-52 questionnaire was used to collect data. Data analysis was performed with the use of descriptive statistical indices and mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA). Although the results showed no differences between the beginning and end of the educational intervention, a fact that might be due to the small sample and the time of the implementation of the program (limited to 8 weeks), its implementation produced very good results with regard to improvisation, body control, balance, and coordination, as well as kinaesthetic awareness and musical rhythmic skills. Creative Dance and BrainDance promote imagination, creativity, improvisation, and self-esteem in general, particularly in primary school students..

To assess the outcome of yttrium-90 radiation synovectomy at 6 and 12 months in patients with knee osteoarthritis unresponsive to systematic or local medical treatment.

Teaching ethical behavior is an aspect of physical education. The purpose of the study was to present the construction and to estimate validity of a test which assesses physical education students' moral judgment, the Moral Judgment Test in Physical Education. The sample comprised 281 male and female participants (95 in Grades 7 to 9, 92 in Grades 10 to 12, and 94 university students), who completed Lind's Moral Judgment Test and the Moral Judgment Test-PE version. The validity of the latter was assessed using four criteria of Lind's moral theory. Analysis indicated that the Moral Judgment Test–PE had adequate construct validity and correlated positively, although relatively weakly, with the original test, so the new version has sufficient construct validity to be used in physical education.

Etiopathogenesis of mucosal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease remains a complex and enigmatic field; various factors (genetic, environmental and microbial) trigger an event that activates intestinal immune and nonimmune systems cluminating in inflammation and tissue injury. Specifically, both innate and adaptive immune systems seem to play important roles in the pathophysiology of this disease. Cyclosporine A represents a macrolide immune modulator with primary inhibitory effects on T helper lymphocyte production of interleukin‐2, and other cytokines leading to altered T‐lymphocyte and B‐lymphocyte function. The diversity of its therapeutic outcome reported in inflammatory bowel disease may be due to the intricate immuno‐pathogenic profile of the disease and the variety of the applied dose‐dependent courses of therapy. Cyclosporine A exerts additional actions on other components of the inflammatory infiltrate, including neutrophils and mast cells, thereby appearing to be a multi‐dynamic therapeutic approach, although with potential drawbacks, that may be applied alone or combined with other immunomodulatory agents in inflammatory bowel disease patients. Because cyclosporine A induces apoptosis of T‐lymphocytes responsible for perpetuation of the chronic inflammatory process in the disease with potential tumorigenic effect, it may exert a further inhibitory effects on cancer development in inflammatory bowel disease patients, and can be combined with other relative agents, such as rapamycin, which also promotes T‐lymphocyte apoptosis. Therefore, recently established multifactorial action of cyclosporine A in relation to the pathogenesis of the disease can open new horizons for prospective, controlled trials in large cohorts, aiming to emphasize cyclosporine A's potential.

Purpose A prospective, nonrandomized, comparative study was carried out to investigate the levels of anti- H. pylori-specific IgG antibodies in the aqueous humor and serum of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and patients with exfoliation glaucoma (XFG), and to compare them with those in age-matched cataract patients. Methods Aqueous humor was aspirated at the beginning of glaucoma surgery from 26 eyes of 26 patients with POAG, 27 eyes of 27 patients with XFG, and at the beginning of phakoemulsification cataract surgery from 31 eyes of 31 age-matched normotensive cataract patients. Serum samples were obtained the day before surgery from all patients. Anti- H. pylori IgG concentration in the aqueous humor and serum was measured by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The mean concentration (± SE) of anti- H. pylori-specific IgG was significantly greater in the aqueous humor samples from patients with POAG (14.27±3.86 U/ml) and XFG (14.25±3.39 U/ml) than in those from age-matched control cataract patients (4.67±1.07 U/ml); ( P=0.006 and P=0.003, respectively). No difference was observed in the levels of H. pylori-specific IgG antibodies between POAG and XFG aqueous humor samples ( P=0.5). Similarly, the serum concentration of anti- H. pylori antibodies was significantly greater in patients with POAG (69.96±9.69 U/ml; P=0.013) and XFG (81.37±10.62 U/ml; P=0.002) than in the cataract controls (44.16±6.48 U/ml). The mean vertical cupping correlated significantly with the titer of anti- H. pylori-specific IgG in the aqueous humor in the POAG patients. Conclusion H. pylori-specific IgG antibody levels are significantly increased in the aqueous humor and serum of patients with POAG and XFG. Moreover, the titer of anti- H. pylori antibody in the aqueous humor might reflect the severity of glaucomatous damage in POAG patients. These findings support a role for H. pylori infection in the pathobiology of these two common glaucomas.

Apoptosis is critical for organ development, tissue homeostasis, the elimination of abnormal cells and the maintenance of immune homeostasis by variable regulatory mechanisms. The death of T lymphocytes following their activation involves a series of proteases (caspases), which comprise the central executioners of apoptosis. Abnormal regulation of apoptosis results in disease. T-cell resistance against apoptosis contributes to inappropriate T-cell accumulation and the perpetuation of the chronic inflammatory process in inflammatory bowel disease with potential tumourigenic effect. The use of antitumour necrosis factor-alpha, anti-interleukin-6R and anti-interleukin-12 antibodies suppresses colitis activity by induction of T-cell apoptosis, thereby having important implications for the design of effective therapeutic strategies in inflammatory bowel diseases. Contrary to international data, the incidence of cancer in Greek patients with inflammatory bowel disease appears to be low. A balance between cell proliferation (Ki-67 overexpression) and apoptosis (Bax protein overexpression) may partly explain the low incidence of cancer development in Greek inflammatory bowel disease patients.