IntroductionThe DASS is a self administered questionnaire which principally measures anxiety stress and depression as a feature of the general population with 42 items.AimsTo create an easy to use and valid measurement, for primary care and during treatment assessment in patients with anxiety or depression disorders.MethodsTranslation was performed using the multiple forward and backward translation protocol. STAI state and trait along with BDI were also administered to check construct validity of DASS.Results537 adults participated, 178 (33.6%) male, 349 (64.6%) female. The total scale of the DASS-42 had a coefficient alpha of .968. Subscale coefficient alphas also were high (αdepression = ,941; αanxiety = ,906 ; αstress = ,942). Mean score for stress was 12,46 (SD = 9,82), for anxiety 7,19 (SD = 7,7) and for depression 8,05 (SD 9,6). Both subscales and total score were significantly correlated with STAI and BDI (r = .60 to.73, p < .01).Principal Components Analysis revealed the presence of 3 factors explaining 56% of the total variance. 14 items loaded in the stress subscale, 14 in the depression factor, but only 12 in the anxiety factor. ANOVAs found significant differences in all subscales between healthy adults and psychiatric outpatients. (p < ,001).ConclusionsThe results of the current validation study suggest that the Greek translation of the DASS is both reliable and valid, with psychometric properties close to those reported in the international literature.

The simultaneous estimation of three noninvasive indexes of arterial stiffness leads to valuable information regarding their association with TOD including CFR, MAU levels, IMT, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, and LA enlargement in never-treated hypertensive patients regarding their dipping status.

Impaired cognitive function is associated with increased large artery stiffness and microalbumin excretion in newly diagnosed, untreated hypertensive patients. These findings support the hypothesis that cognitive impairment induced by impaired microcirculation is linked to large artery stiffness and microvascular damage.

BackgroundWe aimed to explore patients’ preferences for headache treatments with a self-administered questionnaire including the Q-No questionnaire for nocebo.MethodsQuestionnaires from 514 outpatients naïve to neurostimulation and monoclonal antibodies were collected.ResultsPatients assessed that the efficacy of a treatment is more important than safety or route of administration. They preferred to use an external neurostimulation device for both acute (67.1%) and preventive treatment (62.8%). Most patients preferred to take a pill (86%) than any other drug given parenterally for symptomatic pharmaceutical treatment. For preventive pharmaceutical treatment, most patients preferred to take a pill once per day (52%) compared to an injection either subcutaneously or intravenously each month (9% and 4%), or three months (15% and 11%). 56.6% of all participants scored more than 15 in Q-No questionnaire indicating potential nocebo behaviors that contributed significantly in their choices.ConclusionThese patient preferences along with efficacy and safety data may help physicians better choose the right treatment for the right person.

More than 0.6 million people suffer from disabling migraines in Greece causing a dramatic work loss, but only a small proportion of migraineurs attend headache centres, most of them being treated by non-experts. On behalf of the Hellenic Headache Society, we report here a consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of adult migraine that is based on the recent guidelines of the European Headache Federation, on the principles of Good Clinical Practice and on the Greek regulatory affairs. The purposes are three-fold: (1) to increase awareness for migraine in Greece; (2) to support Greek practitioners who are treating migraineurs; and (3) to help Greek migraineurs to get the most appropriate treatment. For mild migraine, symptomatic treatment with high dose simple analgesics is suggested, while for moderate to severe migraines triptans or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or both, should be administered following an individually tailored therapeutic strategy. A rescue acute treatment option should always be advised. For episodic migraine prevention, metoprolol (50–200 mg/d), propranolol (40–240 mg/d), flunarizine (5–10 mg/d), valproate (500–1800 mg/d), topiramate (25–100 mg/d) and candesartan (16–32 mg/d) are the drugs of first choice. For chronic migraine prevention topiramate (100-200 mg/d), valproate (500–1800 mg/d), flunarizine (5–10 mg/d) and venlafaxine (150 mg/d) may be used, but the evidence is very limited. Botulinum toxin type A and monoclonal antibodies targeting the CGRP pathway (anti-CGRP mAbs) are recommended for patients suffering from chronic migraine (with or without medication overuse) who failed or did not tolerate two previous treatments. Anti-CGRP mAbs are also suggested for patients suffering from high frequency episodic migraine (≥8 migraine days per month and less than 14) who failed or did not tolerate two previous treatments.

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Female gender, sevoflurane, smoking and intraoperative hypotension were documented as independent risk factors for postoperative headache. In patients with no previous history of headache, caffeine consumption was an additional independent factor for postoperative headache, while smoking revealed no association.

Unilateral temporary SGB prolonged atrial ERP, reduced AF inducibility, and decreased AF duration. An equivalent effect of right and left SGB on both atria was observed. These findings may have a clinical implication in the prevention of drug refractory and postsurgery AF and deserve further clinical investigation.