Knowledge and attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine among medical students in Turkey

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine knowledge and attitudes towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine among medical students in Turkey, and find out whether they want to be trained in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out between October and December 2010 among medical students. Data were collected from a total of seven medical schools. FINDINGS: The study included 943 medical students. The most well known methods among the students were herbal treatment (81.2 %), acupuncture (80.8 %), hypnosis (78.8 %), body-based practices including massage (77 %) and meditation (65.2 %), respectively. Acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbal treatment and meditation were better known among female participants compared to males (p < 0.05). Females and first year students, generally had more positive attitudes. A larger proportion of female students compared to male students reported that a doctor should be knowledgeable about CAM (p = 0.001), and this knowledge would be helpful in their future professional lives (p = 0.015). Positive attitudes towards and willingness to receive training declined as the number of years spent in the faculty of medicine increased. CONCLUSIONS: Majority of the medical students were familiar with the CAM methods widely used in Turkey, while most of them had positive attitudes towards CAM as well as willingness to receive training on the subject, and they were likely to recommend CAM methods to their patients in their future professional lives. With its gradual scientific development and increasing popularity, there appears a need for a coordinated policy in integrating CAM into the medical curriculum, by taking expectations of and feedback from medical students into consideration in setting educational standards

Rehabilitation for Addicted Patients: Erenköy BAHAR Model

Rehabilitation is any action taken on an individual who has lost their physical or mental capabilities due to a disease or accident to recover their health or improve their capabilities in physical, mental, psychological, social and economic terms within their limitations. Rehabilitation application is divided into medical, social, occupational and psychiatric rehabilitation categories. Main purpose of rehabilitation application for addicted patients is the cessation of drug use in order to begin dealing with the psychological, legal, economic, social and physical damages done of the patients. The purpose of this study is to share several rehabilitation models applied on addicted patients of several countries, and to provide up-to-date knowledge on the development of rehabilitation models applied on addicted patients in our country with a relatively topical application example. In the practice of rehabilitation for addicted patients, we share the capacity and procedural operations, two years of research data and the experiences of what we believe is an important model for our country, the Erenköy Bağımlı Hastalar İçin Rehabilitasyon (BAHAR) Center’s model, for their individualized and integrated approach in recovery. The Center’s rehabilitation programs are cascaded into adaptation program, 0 to 3, 3 to 6, and 6 to 12 months long programs. In Erenköy BAHAR Center, patients’ recoveries in medical and spiritual sense were observed; and positive developments in social standing, family relations and occupational and social roles were recorded. It is seen that this center’s treatment methods for addiction are crucial for individual’s general wellbeing and functionality recovery, thus giving rise to the thought of establishing similar centers in our country. In conclusion, rehabilitation for addicted patients in our country is an emerging field and it requires more effort

ADAMTS1, ADAMTS5, ADAMTS9 and aggrecanase-generated proteoglycan fragments are induced following spinal cord injury in mouse

ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs) proteinases are involved in a variety of biological processes such as angiogenesis, cancer and arthritis. ADAMTSs appears to be responsible for the cleavage of proteoglycans in several tissues including brain and cartilage. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) maintains the integrity of the brain extracellular matrix and major inhibitory contributors for glial scar and neural plasticity. The activity of aggrecanases in the central nervous system (CNS)has been reported. ADAMTSs are an enzyme degrading CSPGs in the brain. However, there is a little knowledge regarding ADAMTSs in the CNS. We investigated the expression levels of ADAMTSs mRNAs by RT-PCR after spinal cord injury in mouse. Transcripts encoding 4 of the 19 known ADAMTSs were evaluated in the mouse spinal cord following injury. ADAMTS1, -5 and -9 expression levels were found to be upregulated. No change was observed in ADAMTS4 expression. By means of immunohistochemistry, ADAMTSs were detected in the astrocytes implying its cellular source in SCI. Western blot analyses indicated that aggrecanase-generated proteoglycan fragments are produced after SCI. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Histopathological examination of acute appendicitis tissue in children during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this study, we prospectively investigated the histopathological features of the removed appendix tissue in pediatric patients who were operated on with the preliminary diagnosis of appendicitis. A catarrhal appendicitis group (n=43), a phlegmonous appendicitis group (n=28), a gangrenous appendicitis group (n=19), a perforated appendicitis group (n=35), and an appendicitis +COVID-19 group (n=7) were formed. The control group consisted of 21 children. A section of each patient&apos;s appendix tissue from the part with the highest diameter was taken for histopathological examination. The sections were routinely stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). The two pathologists evaluated all H&E sections in a light microscope. The evaluation results were analyzed statistically. No significant differences in age and gender were found between all groups. The results of neutrophil and lymphocyte counts in all tissue layers of all groups were significantly different. Neutrophil count in the mucosa and muscularis propria in the appendix tissues of the control group were found to be zero. Among all groups, the highest number of neutrophil counts in the mucosa and muscularis propria were found in the perforated group. Among all groups, the highest number of lymphocyte counts in mucosa and muscularis propria were found in the Covid-19 group. The mucosal erosion, intraluminal neutrophils, and reactive lymphoid hyperplasia were negative in all samples in the control group. Neutrophil accumulation in the mucosa and muscularis propria layers in appendix tissue together with other inflammation findings are important in the histopathological diagnosis of appendicitis. In patients with Covid-19 infection, appendicitis may occur, in which case, severe accumulation of lymphocytes appears in the mucosal layer in addition. [Med-Science 2022; 11(4.000): 1527-33

The effect of COVID-19 on development of hair and nail disorders: a Turkish multicenter, controlled study

© 2022 the International Society of Dermatology.Background: A broad spectrum of skin diseases, including hair and nails, can be directly or indirectly triggered by COVID-19. It is aimed to examine the type and frequency of hair and nail disorders after COVID-19 infection. Methods: This is a multicenter study conducted on consecutive 2171 post-COVID-19 patients. Patients who developed hair and nail disorders and did not develop hair and nail disorders were recruited as subject and control groups. The type and frequency of hair and nail disorders were examined. Results: The rate of the previous admission in hospital due to COVID-19 was statistically significantly more common in patients who developed hair loss after getting infected with COVID-19 (P < 0.001). Telogen effluvium (85%) was the most common hair loss type followed by worsening of androgenetic alopecia (7%) after COVID-19 infection. The mean stress scores during and after getting infected with COVID-19 were 6.88 ± 2.77 and 3.64 ± 3.04, respectively, in the hair loss group and were 5.77 ± 3.18 and 2.81 ± 2.84, respectively, in the control group (P < 0.001, P < 0.001). The frequency of recurrent COVID-19 was statistically significantly higher in men with severe androgenetic alopecia (Grades 4–7 HNS) (P = 0.012; Odds ratio: 2.931 [1.222–7.027]). The most common nail disorders were leukonychia, onycholysis, Beau's lines, onychomadesis, and onychoschisis, respectively. The symptoms of COVID-19 were statistically significantly more common in patients having nail disorders after getting infected with COVID-19 when compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The development of both nail and hair disorders after COVID-19 seems to be related to a history of severe COVID-19