Our rating scales are reliable tools for valid and reproducible assessment of the aging process in lower face areas.

The mid face scales are reliable tools for valid and reproducible assessment of age-related mid face changes.

This study provides a first overview of the burden of GW in Spain. A quadrivalent HPV vaccine that prevents HPV 6, 11, 16, 18 related diseases will have the potential to significantly decrease the socio-economic burden associated with GW in Spain.

Presence of DR and ME, visual acuity impairment and patient co-morbidities lead to significant impairment of both the physical and mental components of HRQOL.

The neck volume scale demonstrates optimal reliability for clinical research and practice.

Improved compliance may lead to reductions of the total healthcare costs in T2DM, Further research is needed in countries other than the US to assess impact of compliance and persistence to pharmacotherapy on T2DM costs in country-specific settings.

This study is the first comprehensive study to provide estimates of costs associated with DR in Germany. These costs were estimated to account for approximately 1.5% of the total health-care expenditure in 2002.

Background: The main objective of this analysis was to assess the impact of severity of disease on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with ocular hypertension (OHT) and early, moderate, or advanced primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods: This multicenter study was conducted at 2 university hospitals and 13 ophthalmology practices in Germany. QoL data were assessed by the Health Utility Index (HUI3) and the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25). Results: 154 patients (17.5% OHT, 27.9% early, 22.7% moderate, and 31.8% advanced POAG) were included. The HUI3 scores for OHT, early, moderate, and advanced POAG were 0.87 ± 0.09, 0.85 ± 0.15, 0.75 ± 0.23, and 0.58 ± 0.32, respectively. Compared to a normal population matched by age and gender, for moderate and severe POAG a difference of -0.06 ± 0.24 and -0.19 ± 0.28, respectively, was observed. NEI-VFQ-25 scores illustrate different dimensions of the impact on QoL; reduced peripheral vision or difficulties to drive a car were more crucial to glaucoma patients than social factors. Conclusions: The key difference for QoL impairment in glaucoma lies between OHT/early POAG versus moderate/severe POAG, hence every possible effort needs to be made to prevent disease progression over this threshold.