Comparison of the efficacy of gabapentin and pregabalin for neuropathic pain in patients with spinal cord injury: A crossover study

Objectives: To compare the efficacy and side effects of gabapentin and pregabalin for the treatment of neuropathic pain(NP) in spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: Twenty eight patients were included in the study. The patients were randomized to receive pregabalin or gabapentin. VAS(Visual analog scale) pain score, neuropathic pain scale(NPS), Lattinen test(LT), Beck Depression Inventory(BDI) pain diary measures were used for the patient evaluation. We assessed patients at 4th and 8th weeks. Treatment groups were crossed over after 2 weeks of wash-out period to receive the other treatment. Results: At the end of the study there was significant improvement in VAS both with gabapentin and pregabalin (p0.05). In NPS, and LT parameters, no difference was present between the two study groups before or after the treatment (p>0.05). In both groups no significant improvement was seen in emotional status as assessed with BDI (p>0.05). Frequency of side effects and exclusion from the study due to side effects were higher for the pregabalin group but it was not significant between the groups (p>0.05). Conclusions: It is concluded that both drugs are effective and safe for the treatment of NP due to SCI but no difference exist between the two drugs. We are in the opinion that large studies that include more patients and placebo control should be carried out for more accurate data about this topic

Comparison among pain, depression, and quality of life in cases with failed back surgery syndrome and non-specific chronic back pain

[Purpose] The aim of this study is to compare patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) with those with non-specific chronic back pain (NSCBP) in terms of pain, depression, and quality of life levels to explain the effects of surgery experience on low-back pain. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 50 patients with FBSS and 51 patients with NSCBP who consecutively applied to the outpatient clinic from September 2012 to April 2013 were included in the study. Patients completed questionnaires on demographics, body mass index, education level, work history, and pain duration (in months). Lumbar pain at rest, during movement, and at night were measured with a visual analogue scale (VAS). The Short Form 36 scale was used for evaluating quality of life, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used for assessing depression. [Results] VAS scores reporting pain at rest and at night and BDI scores were significantly higher in the FBSS group than in the NSCBP group. Role limitations due to physical functioning, which is one of the measures of quality of life, were significantly higher in the FBSS group than in the NSCBP group. [Conclusion] These assessments show that surgery experience in patients with ongoing low-back pain makes their pain and depression worse. © 2017 The Society of Physical Therapy Science

The effect of dietary lipid on the growth performance of Meagre (Argyrosomus regius Asso, 1801)

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of dietary lipid on the growth and feed utilization of Meagre (Argyrosomus regius Asso, 1801), taking into account their feeding behavior of collecting food from the bottom of the cages. The fish (141.07±0.5g, average weight ± SD; 22.18±0.53 cm, average total length± SD) were fed three isonitrogenous experimental diets (45% crude protein, dry matter) containing 16% (group A), 18% (group B), and 20% (group C) crude lipids for 570 days. The fish were stocked into 9 net cages (16 m diameter; 7 m deep) at a density of 16000 fish per cage with 2 replications. At the end of the experiment fish in the A, B, and C groups reached 1054.59±5.9, 1026.32±4.3, 955.31±2.3 mean live weight (g) and 45.78±1.6, 44.43±1.4, 43.88±1.4 mean total length (cm) respectively. FCR and CF values were 1.99, 2.07, 2.14 and 1.999, 1.131, 1.170 respectively for each group, at the end of the study. VSI, HIS, and GSI values were also calculated. Growth rate in fish from group A (fed the lowest lipid diet) was superior to the other dietary groups. Cross sections of their liver were checked and were found to have less lipidosis. © 2016, Israeli Journal of Aquaculture - Bamidgeh. All rights reserved

Diagnostic performance of superb microvascular imagingand other sonographic modalities in the assessment of lateral epicondylosis

PubMed ID: 28850740Objectives-The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of different sonographic modalities for diagnosing lateral epicondylosis. Methods-A total of 50 symptomatic and 50 asymptomatic common extensor tendons in 44 patients with lateral epicondylosis, and 25 healthy participants were prospectively examined by B-mode sonography, color Doppler imaging, power Doppler imaging, Superb Microvascular Imaging (SMI; Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), and strain elastography. We evaluated blood flow in common extensor tendons by using a grading system with color Doppler imaging, power Doppler imaging, and SMI. The diagnostic performance of the modalities was compared. Results-When a cutoff value of hypoechogenicity was used for the mean strain ratio, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy rates were 92.0%, 94%.0, 93.9%, 92.2%, and 93.0%, respectively. When a cutoff point of grade 1 was used, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy rates were 26.0%, 10.0%, 10.0%, 57.5%, and 63.0, for color Doppler imaging; 40.0%, 10.0%, 10.0%, 62.5%, and 70.0% for power Doppler imaging; and 84.0%, 94.0%, 93.0%, 85.5%, and 89.0% for SMI. When a cutoff value of 3.94 was used for the mean strain ratio, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy rates were 78.0%, 92.0%, 90.7%, 80.7%, and 85.0%, respectively. A statistically significant correlation was detected between SMI, strain elastography, and visual analog scale scores (P<.001). Conclusions-The combination of SMI and B-mode sonography was found to have excellent diagnostic performance for lateral epicondylosis. Neovascularzation in patients’ tendons with lateral epicondylosis was identified much better with SMI compared to color or power Doppler imaging. © 2017 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine

Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Patients with Dysphagia: A Delphi-Based Consensus Study of Experts in Turkey-Part II: Rehabilitation

Dysphagia is one of the most common and important complications of stroke. It is an independent marker of poor outcome following acute stroke and it continues to be effective for many years. This consensus-based guideline is not only a good address to clinical questions in practice for the clinical management of dysphagia including management, diagnosis, follow-up, and rehabilitation methods, but also includes detailed algorithms for these topics. The recommendation paper has been written by a multidisciplinary team and offers 117 recommendations for stroke patients with dysphagia. While focusing on management principles, diagnosis, and follow-up in the 1st part (45 items), rehabilitation details were evaluated in the 2nd part (72 items). © 2021, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Patients with Dysphagia: A Delphi-Based Consensus Study of Experts in Turkey-Part I: Management, Diagnosis, and Follow-up

Dysphagia is one of the most common and important complications of stroke. It is an independent marker of poor outcome after acute stroke and may become chronic after the acute period and continues to affect all aspects of the patient's life. Patients with stroke may encounter any of the medical branches in the emergency room or outpatient clinic, and as in our country, there may not be specialists specific for dysphagia, such as speech-language pathologists (SLP), in every hospital. This study aimed to raise awareness and create a common opinion of medical specialists for stroke patients with dysphagia. This recommendation paper has been written by a multidisciplinary team and offers 45 recommendations for stroke patients with dysphagia. It was created using the eight-step Delphi round via e-mail. This study is mostly specific to Turkey. However, since it contains detailed recommendations from the perspective of various disciplines associated with stroke, this consensus-based recommendation paper is not only a useful guide to address clinical questions in practice for the clinical management of dysphagia in terms of management, diagnosis, and follow-up, but also includes detailed comments for these topics. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

The effect of a de novo pericentric inversion (10)(p11.1;q22.1) on aggressive behavior and hyperactivity

PubMedID: 19400544[No abstract available

Alexithymia, depression, anxiety levels and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that manifests itself with joint swelling and pain. Although alexithymia is more commonly seen in painful rheumatic conditions such as RA, there is limited clinical data about the relations with other psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety and their impact on quality of life. We aimed to assess the level of alexithymia, depression and anxiety and their effects on quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Materials and methods: A hundred forty-eight patients with RA and 100 healthy subjects were included in the study. After physical examination of the patients, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were performed to determine levels of alexithymia depression and anxiety, respectively. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Abbreviated Version (WHOQoL-BREF) was used to assess the quality of life. Disease Activity Score Calculator for Rheumatoid Arthritis-28 (DAS-28) was performed to evaluate disease activity. Results: The prevalence of alexithymia was 31.1% in patients with RA. Alexithymia was statistically significantly higher in the RA than the control group (p 0.05) in patient with RA. The anxiety scores were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in patients with RA. RA patients manifested poorer scores in all domains of WHOQoL-BREF than the control subjects (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In this clinical trial it has been demonstrated that regardless of disease activity, alexithymia, symptoms of depression and anxiety are more commonly seen in RA patients that can negatively affect the quality of life. Further studies are needed to confirm this association