The Importance of Use of the On-line Databases as a Source for Systematic Review of Toxoplasmosis Screening During Pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a common infection in animals and humans worldwide. This infection can occur after ingestion of water or food contaminated with cat oocytes, ingestion of tissue cysts in mammalian and avian meat and congenitally. The prenatal infection can lead to Congenital Toxoplasmosis with miscarriage or stillbirth. After infection, laboratory tests are positive within 2-3 weeks and remain positive throughout life. However, testing for Toxoplasma infection during pregnancy is necessary in some countries, while in others it is not a mandatory "screening" test. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to review systematically the screening of toxoplasmosis in pregnancy in different countries worldwide. METHODS: Cohorts, retrospective and cross-sectional studies were incorporated in our review, finally including 11 articles from an initial pool of 1532 related papers. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of pregnant women varies from countries with low prevalence to regions with high prevalence and screening policies also differ. Most countries worldwide have control policies, while Germany and Mexico that do not have systematic screening for Toxoplasma during the prenatal period. CONCLUSION: Our results show that Congenital Toxoplasmosis is very rare in some countries and it is very difficult to find a balance between potential risk and benefit of a screening program. For this reason, some countries are limited to prenatal counseling to reduce CT. In addition, the reduction of major sources of contamination especially in developing countries is the most important prevention measure.

Awareness, Knowledge and Risky Behaviors of Sexually Transmitted Diseases among Young People in Greece.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) affect mainly young individuals and cause health, social, and economic problems worldwide. The present study used a web questionnaire to assess the awareness, knowledge, sexual behaviors, and common practices regarding STDs in young Greek adults. The 1833 individuals, aged 18-30 years, who responded to the study seem to be particularly knowledgeable regarding STDs such as AIDS (97.7%), warts (97%), Chlamydia (92.2%), genital herpes (89.9%), syphilis (81.9%), and gonorrhea (72.1%), whereas lower percentages were noted for trichomoniasis (39.3%), Molluscum contagiosum (12.9%), mycoplasmosis (11.6%), and amoebiasis (7.4%). Regarding oral STD transmission, participants replied correctly for genital herpes (45%), warts (35.8%), and AIDS (HIV; 33.8%), whereas 30.2% were unfamiliar with oral sexual transmission. Of the participants, 52% were not aware that STDs might cause infertility. Only 40.4% of the respondents reported always using condoms during sexual intercourse, and 48.6% had never been tested for STDs. The majority of the young population (55%) presented a moderate knowledge STD score (41-60%) and was associated with demographic parameters such as age, gender, sexual preference, number of sexual partners, and residence (p < 0.05). These findings provide important information regarding the prevention of STDs and highlight the significance of developing more effective sex education programs for young people in Greece.

Incidence and risk factors of coronary heart disease in elderly patients on chronic hemodialysis.

AIM: To determine the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients (pts) over 65 years (y) and its relation to common risk factors. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 128 hemodialysis (HD) pts (80 M and 48 F), mean age 73+/-6.5 years, mean time on HD 44.4+/-26.4 months and BMI 25.4+/-3 kg/m2. They were evaluated for: age, sex, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHP), inflammation, as evidence by elevated level of hsCRP, hyperhomocysteinemia (HOC), time on HD, fluid overload and adequacy of HD. Forty-eight pts (37%) had CAD diagnosed by coronary angiography in 22 (46%) and (201)TL-chloride dipyridamole stress test in 26 (54%). RESULTS: There was a statistically significant correlation between CAD and increasing age (p<0.0001). The relative risk was significantly increased concerning: (1) male over female pts (RR: 1.95, p<0.01), (2) diabetic vs. non diabetic pts (RR: 2.09, p<0.001), (3) patients with SHP over pts with iPTH values<250 pg/ml (RR: 2.16, p<0.001), (4) hypertensive vs. non hypertensive pts (RR: 2.26, p=0.002), (5) smokers vs. non smokers (RR: 1.69, p<0.05), (6) pts with HOC over pts with normal homocysteine values (RR: 2.09, p<0.05), (7) pts with increased CRP levels over pts with normal CRP levels (RR: 1.8, p<0.01), (8) pts undergoing HD for 36 vs. 12 months (RR: 1.71, p=0.03), (9) between pts with inadequate or adequate HD (RR: 1.73, p=0.02). No significant correlation existed between CAD incidence and the other risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Coronary heart disease incidence in elderly HD patients increases with age, male sex, diabetes, SHP, hypertension, increased CRP levels, HOC, smoking, time on HD and inadequacy of HD.