Association of upper extremity anthropometry and subcutaneus adipose tissue with carpal tunnel syndrome

Background and purpose – Body mass index (BMI) is positively correlated with the frequency of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However, there are different types of obesity, and the localization of adipose tissue differs between the genders. In this study, we purposed to investigate whether there was an association between the amount of local adipose tissue thickness and anthropometry in upper extremity with the presence and/or electrophysiological severity of CTS on both genders. Methods – Our study included 150 patients who were diagnosed with CTS clinically and electrophysiologically and 165 healthy controls. The biceps and triceps skinfold thickness, the diameters of the wrist and metacarpal joints, and the upper arm circumferences over the belly of the biceps muscle were measured by using skinfold caliper and measuring cylinder. All data were analyzed by using the Statistics Open For All package (SofaStats) programme. To detect the role of anthropometric indexes, we used multivariable multinomial logistic regression models. Results – We revealed that BMI, biceps and triceps adipose tissue thicknesses were higher in females and also in patients with CTS. There was a positive correlation between electrophysiological grades of CTS and BMI with logistic regression analyzes. The mean Wrist circumference/Metacarpo pharengeal Circumference ratio and biceps circumference were higher in moderate CTS groups. Metacarpofarengeal circumference was smaller in mild and moderate CTS cases compared to healthy ones. Conclusion – We suggest that the differences between the anatomical bone structure and local adiposity between the genders may play an important role in the occurrence of CTS. Moreover, the structures of proximal muscle groups and distal metacarpal joints may contribute both to the development and severity of CTS

Headache in idiopathic/genetic epilepsy: Cluster analysis in a large cohort

Objective The link between headache and epilepsy is more prominent in patients with idiopathic/genetic epilepsy (I/GE). We aimed to investigate the prevalence of headache and to cluster patients with regard to their headache and epilepsy features. Methods Patients aged 6-40 years, with a definite diagnosis of I/GE, were consecutively enrolled. The patients were interviewed using standardized epilepsy and headache questionnaires, and their headache characteristics were investigated by experts in headache. Demographic and clinical variables were analyzed, and patients were clustered according to their epilepsy and headache characteristics using an unsupervised K-means algorithm. Results Among 809 patients, 508 (62.8%) reported having any type of headache; 87.4% had interictal headache, and 41.2% had migraine. Cluster analysis revealed two distinct groups for both adults and children/adolescents. In adults, subjects having a family history of headache, >= 5 headache attacks, duration of headache >= 24 months, headaches lasting >= 1 h, and visual analog scale scores > 5 were grouped in one cluster, and subjects with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), myoclonic seizures, and generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) were clustered in this group (Cluster 1). Self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes and epilepsy with GTCS alone were clustered in Cluster 2 with the opposite characteristics. For children/adolescents, the same features as in adult Cluster 1 were clustered in a separate group, except for the presence of JME syndrome and GTCS alone as a seizure type. Focal seizures were clustered in another group with the opposite characteristics. In the entire group, the model revealed an additional cluster, including patients with the syndrome of GTCS alone (50.51%), with >= 5 attacks, headache lasting >4 h, and throbbing headache; 65.66% of patients had a family history of headache in this third cluster (n = 99). Significance Patients with I/GE can be clustered into distinct groups according to headache features along with seizures. Our findings may help in management and planning for future studies