Objective To examine target attainment of lipid-lowering, antihypertensive and antidiabetic treatment in the elderly in a specialist set-ting of a University Hospital in Greece. Methods This was a retrospective study including consecutive subjects≥65 years old (n=465) with a follow-up ≥ 3 years. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), blood pressure (BP) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) goal achievement were recorded according to European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society (ESC/EAS), European Society of Hypertension (ESH)/ESC and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) guidelines. Results The LDL-C targets were attained by 27%, 48%and 62%of very high, high and moderate risk patients, respectively. Those receiving statin+ezetimibe achieved higher rates of LDL-C goal achievement compared with those receiving statin monotherapy (48%vs. 33%, P<0.05). Of the diabetic sub-jects, 71%had BP<140/85 mmHg, while 78%of those without diabetes had BP<140/90 mmHg. A higher proportion of the non-diabetic individuals (86%) had BP<150/90 mmHg. Also, a higher proportion of those with diabetes had HbA1c<8%rather than<7%(88%and 47%, respectively). Of note, almost one out of three non-diabetic individuals and one out of ten diabetic individuals had achieved all three treatment targets. Conclusions Even in a specialist setting of a University Hospital, a high proportion of the elderly remain at suboptimal LDL-C, BP and HbA1c levels. The use of drug combinations could improve multifactorial treatment target attainment, while less strict tar-gets could be more easily achieved in this population.

Trichinellosis (trichinosis) is a parasitic infection caused by nematodes of the genus Trichinella. Pigs are the most common source of human infection. We describe a case of a 47-year-old woman presented with a wide range of intermittent symptoms including prolonged fever, dry cough, diarrhea, rash, myalgias and arthralgias. The patient was attended by physicians with various medical specialties such as dermatologists, rheumatologists and allergiologists, but they did not establish a certain diagnosis because of the gradual onset of symptoms, raising the suspicion of a systematic disease. After extensive work up, the diagnosis of trichinosis was established with femoral muscle biopsy compatible with inflammatory myopathy of parasitic etiology with trichinosis to be the predominant diagnosis. Despite the significant delay of diagnosis for almost three months, patient was treated successfully with no further complications. Trichinellosis is a food-borne treatable infection. Preventive measures include community education especially in zones where parasite prevalence is increased, improvement of farming and cooking techniques.