Evaluation of an upper limb robotic rehabilitation program on motor functions, quality of life, cognition, and emotional status in patients with stroke: a randomized controlled study

Objective This study aims to find out whether including robotic therapy in addition to a conventional rehabilitation program affects the quality of life, motor function, cognition, and emotional status of hemiplegic patients. Design Thirty-seven stroke patients recruited between April 2016 and April 2019 were included in the study. The patients were randomized into 2 groups (Robotic rehabilitation group-RR n:17, Control group n:20), RR was arranged to be 30-45 min, 5 days per week for 4 weeks. All patients were assessed at the beginning of therapy and the end of 4th week with Brunnstrom stages of motor recovery, Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), handgrip strength, Purdue peg test, Minnesota manual dexterity test, Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL), Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living (NEADL) Scale, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES- D). Results Improvements in motor function scores, spasticity, general functioning, activities of daily living, cognitive assessment were better in the robotic group when compared to the control group but this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Improvement in the CES-D in the RR-group was better in comparison to the control group (p = 0.018). Conclusion Improvements in motor functions were observed after the treatment in both groups. Although RR group improved better in numbers, none of the outcomes except the CES-D scale were significant. Robotic rehabilitation provides a favorable alternative bringing slight benefits, and also is advantageous in terms of work power and psychological recovery, making its addition to conventional neurological rehabilitation effective and useful in patient management after stroke

Pelvic Digit

WOS: 000343521400014Pelvic digit is an unusual developmental anomaly in which bone develops in soft tissues adjacent to normal skeletal bone. It is an asymptomatic entity that is usually discovered incidentally. The importance of recognizing pelvic digit is in distinguishing it from post-traumatic ossification and avulsion injuries of the pelvis. We report pelvic digits discovered in plain films of two patients who presented with hip pain. One patient has accompanying femoroacetabular impingement on the same side, which may explain the presence of hip pain

Prevalence of symptomatic knee, hand and hip osteoarthritis among individuals 40 years or older: a study conducted in izmir city

WOS: 000326203600003PubMed ID: 23999509Objective: This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of symptomatic knee, hand and hip osteoarthritis among men and women at or over 40 years of age, living in the Bayrakli Adalet district of Izmir. Methods: The study included a sample size of 522 people calculated using the Epi Info (TM) software. Demographic information, weight, height and body mass index were recorded. Patients were physically examined for evidence of osteoarthritis, such as joint tenderness, range of motion deficiency, deformity, 1st carpometacarpal joint involvement and Heberden's and/or Bouchard's nodes. One hundred and ninety-one individuals were suspected of having knee/hand/hip osteoarthritis and 152 of these were called in for radiographs. Results: The prevalence of symptomatic knee, hand and hip osteoarthritis of adults aged >= 40 years was 20.9%, 2.8% and 1.0%, respectively. Symptomatic knee and hand osteoarthritis was significantly higher among women (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between two genders regarding symptomatic hip osteoarthritis. Conclusion: Knee osteoarthritis is frequent in the region in which the study was conducted. An effective health policy regarding osteoarthritis can be created following further studies with larger samples representing the entire country

Risk Factors of Symptomatic Knee, Hand and Hip Osteoarthritis in a Suburban Area of Izmir City

WOS: 000340590800008Objective: To determine the risk factors of symptomatic knee, hand, and hip osteoarthritis among people aged >= 40 years in a suburban area of Izmir City, Turkey Material and Methods: A total of 522 subjects were randomly chosen with systematic randomization. All subjects fulfilled a detailed survey and had a physical examination. Any subject who met at least one of the ACR clinical criteria for knee/hand/hip osteoarthritis (OA) was considered as screening positive and was invited for x-rays. Results: We report that the symptomatic knee, hand, and hip osteoarthritis prevalence correspondingly increases with age. Symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (SKO) has a positive correlation with female gender (OR: 26.5, 95% CI: 7.6-92.3), obesity, morbid obesity (OR: 5.8, 95% CI: 2.1-16.2), and regular prayer habit (namaz) (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.1-6.2). SKO and symptomatic hand osteoarthritis (SHaO) prevalence numbers are higher in the postmenopausal female group than premenopausal women (p<0.05). We determined that poorly educated people had a 1.5-times higher risk for developing SKO (p=0.649). Non-smokers had 1.5 times the risk of smokers for developing OA. Subjects lacking symptomatic knee OA were found to be significantly more active than the other groups. Conclusion: Risk factors for development of symptomatic knee, hand, and hip osteoarthritis were determined as female gender, advanced age, obesity, and being in postmenopausal stage. Low education level, being a non-smoker, having a regular prayer habit, climbing stairs, being a worker, and sedentary life were also risk factors for having knee osteoarthritis. It is an obvious issue that we need countrywide studies with larger populations to build a health policy for osteoarthritis.Ege University Faculty of MedicineEge University [09.TIP-15]This study was financially supported by Ege University Faculty of Medicine (Project no: 09.TIP-15

Isokinetic ankle plantarflexion and dorsiflexion strength in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

WOS: 000254739200004Backgroud and objectives: In patients with rheumatoid arthritis ( RA), some muscle groups are affected in different stages of disease, especially those related to the affected joint. However, data on associations between functional performance and muscle strength in RA are few. Therefore we sought to determine whether isokinetic ankle plantarflexion ( PF) and dorsiflexion (DF) strength was affected in RA patients and to study the association between isokinetic strength and other clinical indicators of disability such as walking and stair-climbing time and disease activity in patients with RA. Methods: Thirty three patients diagnosed with RA in the chronic phase were selected from a rheumatology outpatient clinic and matched for age and gender with 33 healthy subjects. Isometric and isokinetic muscle strength was measured in DF and PF. The subjects were also evaluated through the Stanford Health Assessment Questionaire ( HAQ), walking and stair-climbing time. Cumulative and current steroid doses (CSD) were calculated. Results: No significant correlations were found between muscle strength and visual analogue scale ( VAS) scores, HAQ, ankle involvement, CSD ( p > 0.05). With respect to the isokinetic parameters, no differences have been been observed between RA and control groups ( p > 0.05). Walking and stair-climbing time increased significantly ( p < 0.05) in patients with RA. Conclusions: Ankle isokinetic muscle strength is not affected in inactive RA patients while negative effects of steroids on muscle strength were not demonstrated. Important determinators of walking ability in RA patients should be defined in future studies

Longitudinal study of bone loss in chronic spinal cord injury patients

WOS: 000356074700034PubMed ID: 26157234[Purpose] This prospective longitudinal study evaluated the changes in bone metabolism markers and bone mineral density of spinal cord injury patients over 3 years. We also assessed the relationships among the bone mineral density, bone metabolism, and clinical data of spinal cord injury patients. [Subjects and Methods] We assessed the clinical data (i.e., immobilization due to surgery, neurological status, neurological level, and extent of lesion) in 20 spinal cord injury patients. Bone mineral density, and hormonal and biochemical markers of the patients were measured at 0, 6, 12, and 36 months. [Results] Femoral neck T score decreased significantly at 36 months (p < 0.05). Among the hormonal markers, parathyroid hormone and vitamin D were significantly elevated, while bone turnover markers (i.e., deoxypyridinoline and osteocalcin) were significantly decreased at 12 and 36 months (p < 0.05). [Conclusion] Bone mineral density of the femoral neck decreases significantly during the long-term follow-up of patients with spinal cord injury due to osteoporosis. This could be due to changes in hormonal and bone turnover markers

Radioisotope synovectomy for treating chronic synovitis in inhibitor patients with hemophilia.

48th Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Hematology -- DEC 09-12, 2006 -- Orlando, FLWOS: 000242440400286Amer Soc Hemato

Burden of Chronic Low Back Pain in the Turkish Population

WOS: 000353480500011Objective: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a great economic burden to the society mainly in terms of the large number of the lost work days and disability, and it appears to be growing. The economic burden of LBP in Turkey is not known. This study aims to analyze the health care resource use, work and productivity loss, and health-related economics of CLBP in Turkey. Material and Methods: The study was designed as a multi-centered cross-sectional survey of patients in physical therapy and rehabilitation clinics from eight different regions of Turkey and 662 patients with CLBP over 18 years of age were included. Data on patient sociodemographics, disease-related healthcare resource use during the previous 6 months, inability to work during the last 3 months, Roland Morris Disability Index for the functional status, and psychological health with Beck Depression Scale were collected. Direct costs included medical visits, investigations, medications, hospitalizations, orthopedic aids, and physical therapy. Indirect costs were evaluated mostly with productivity loss. Results: The total annual direct costs for CLBP per patient were estimated at 1080 TL. The indirect costs were estimated at 5511 TL per patient. Direct cost was correlated with disease severity, duration, and age. Indirect cost was higher in women. Conclusion: The indirect costs for CLBP were significantly higher than the direct costs