11 research outputs found

    Patient use of complementary and alternative medicine for psoriasis vulgaris and factors believed to trigger the disease: A multicenter cross-sectional study with 1621 patients

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    Introduction: Due to the chronic recurrent nature of psoriasis vulgaris (PV) and lack of definitive treatment for the disease, patients often resort to alternative treatments. Physicians seem to have low awareness of this issue. Objectives: To elicit the perceptions of 1,621 PV patients on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and examine factors reported to worsen PV. Methods: The patients sociodemographic characteristics, Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), disease duration, and severity were recorded, and the patients CAM use was questioned in detail. The patients were also asked about factors that worsened PV and their experiences with a gluten-free diet. Results: Of the patients, 56.51% had used CAM. The mean age, illness duration, PASI scores and DLQI of those using CAM were significantly higher. CAM use was significantly higher in those with facial, genital involvement, and arthralgia/arthritis. The patients mostly referred to CAM when PV became severe (46.4%). Of the CAM users, 45.52% used herbal topicals. The physicians of 67.03% did not inquire whether they used CAM. Of the participants, 37.73% considered that stress worsened their disease. Gluten-free diet did not affect PV symptoms in 52.22%. Conclusions: Patients CAM use is often overlooked by dermatologists. Our results showed that more than half the patients used CAM and did not share this information with their physicians. Therefore, the awareness of physicians should be increased and patients should be asked about the use of CAM and directed to the appropriate medical treatment options by physicians

    Habits of using social media and the internet in psoriasis patients

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    Introduction: Psoriasis significantly affects the patients quality of life, which often leads patients to seek online information about this disease. Objectives: To explore the habits of patients with psoriasis related to their use of social media (SM) and the internet to obtain information about their disease. Methods: 1,520 patients completed the survey and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire. The Psoriasis Area Severity Index scores (PASI) and clinical data of the patients were recorded by their physicians. Results: Of the 1,114 patients that reported using SM and internet, 48.38% regularly and 31.14% sometimes resorted to obtain information about psoriasis. The use of SM and internet for psoriasis was statistically significantly higher among young people (P = 0.000), those with university or higher education (P = 0.009), higher DLQI (P = 0.000) and PASI (P = 0.011) scores, facial (P = 0.050), scalp (P = 0.032), hand (P = 0.048), genital (P = 0.001) and inverse (P = 0.000) involvement, and arthralgia/arthritis (P = 0.006). The participants mostly used the Google (86%) and Facebook (41%). More than half of the participants (62.8%) expected dermatologists to inform society that psoriasis is not contagious. Conclusions: Internet and SM being widely available and offering substantial information to be easily accessed make it very attractive for patients to use these platforms to investigate diseases, including psoriasis. If what is presented on SM conflicts with what the physician says, patients mostly trust the latter, but at the same time, they tend not to share the results of their online inquiries with their physicians

    Female sexual dysfunction in androgenetic alopecia: Case-control study

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    Introduction: We sought to evaluate the association of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in premenopausal women. Methods: From December 2013 to June 2015, we performed a case-control, prospective study of 115 patients with AGA and 97 age-matched control patients without AGA from among premenopausal women who visited dermatology clinics of the two reference hospitals. Comprehensive history, anthropometric measurements, and questionnaire administration were performed for each of the total of 212 women. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was used to assess the key dimensions of female sexual function. AGA was assessed and graded by an experienced dermatologist according to Ludwig's classification. The MetS assessment was made according to the NCEP-ATP III criteria. Results: In univariate analysis, age, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index (BMI), AGA, MetS, cardiovascular event, marital status, hypertension, high fasting plasma glucose, high triglyceride, large waist, total testosterone, and free testosterone were associated with presence of FSD. In logistic regression analysis, age (odds ratio [OR] 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13. 1.30; p<0.001), AGA (OR 3.42, 95% CI 1.31. 8.94; p= 0.017), MetS (OR 5.39, 95% CI 1.34. 21.62; p= 0.012), and free testosterone (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.09. 0.37; p< 0.001) were independently associated with FSD. Conclusions: Our study suggests that age, AGA, MetS, and free testosterone may have strong impact on sexual function in premenopausal women. Further studies with population-based and longitudinal design should be conducted to confirm this finding

    Fumed silica filled poly(dimethylsiloxane-urea) segmented copolymers: preparation and properties

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    Novel fumed silica filled thermoplastic poly(dimethylsiloxane-urea) (TPSU) segmented copolymers were synthesized and characterized. TPSU copolymers were prepared from a cycloaliphatic diisocyanate, aminopropyl terminated PDMS oligomers with number average molecular weights of 3,200, 10,800 and 31,500 g/mol and 2-methyl-1,5-diaminopentane chain extender. Two different types of fumed silica HDK H2000 (hydrophobic) and HDK N20 (hydrophilic) were utilized and incorporated into silicone-urea copolymers in amounts of 1-60% by weight. Influence of the silica type (hydrophilic versus hydrophobic), amount of silica loading and the PDMS soft segment molecular weight on the morphology, tensile properties and modulus-temperature behavior of the nanocomposites were determined. Major observations of this study were: (i) under the blending conditions used, incorporation of silica does not seem to interfere significantly with the hydrogen bonding between urea groups, (ii) incorporation of silica does not affect the glass transition temperature of PDMS, (iii) incorporation of silica influences the tensile and thermomechanical properties of silicone-urea segmented copolymers significantly, (iv) average molecular weight of the PDMS soft segment in the silicone-urea copolymer plays a critical role on the improvement of the tensile properties of the fumed silica/TPSU composites

    Seismic evaluation of a renovated wooden hypostyle structure: A case study on a mosque designed with the combination of Asian and Byzantine styles in the Seljuk era (14th century AD)

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    Wooden hypostyle structures are primarily built using timber-framed construction types, surrounded by masonry walls on two or three facades. This construction technique is a combination of Asian (wooden frame) and Byzantine (masonry wall) techniques. The primary load-bearing system in these structures consists of multiple rows of wooden pillars. This paper focuses on the restoration of a historical wooden hypostyle mosque constructed in 1366. The mosque is a crucial example of wooden hypostyle tradition in the Anatolia region of Turkey. The study consists of four steps: field survey, lab tests, restoration practices, and seismic performance analyses for the examined structure. The on-site examination includes the visual inspection of material deterioration and the analyses of obtained samples from different places of the structure. Moreover, a building survey was carried out using three-dimensional laser scanning. Secondly, a laboratory study was performed using the samples gathered from the structure. The physical tests revealed that while the stone sample taken from the minaret had the highest porosity, the stone sample represents the west facade displayed the lowest porosity. Accordingly, the water absorption capacity of the stone sample taken from the west facade was the lowest. On the other hand, among samples, this stone sample had the highest wet and dry density. In the third step, the renovation process of the mosque considering its originality is presented. Lastly, the seismic performance level of the renovated structure is obtained using three analyses: linear, pushover, and kinematic approaches. Story drift ratios of the structure at the performance points for three earthquake ground motion levels meet the target performance requirements. Considering the realistic behavior of the material, the vulnerability of the main structure against the maximum credible earthquake is revealed in terms of tensile and shear stresses. The seismic vulnerability of the minaret is also determined in terms of both tensile and shear stresses and the story drifts ratios in both analysis types. We believe that the structural restoration processes presented in this paper to bring back a deteriorated historical mosque to its original form will provide a comprehensive approach to the literature

    Rates of skincare product and cosmetic procedure use in patients with acne vulgaris and the effective factors: A multicenter study with 1,755 patients

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    Background Skincare products and cosmetic procedures are used as an adjunct or complementary to conventional drug therapy for acne vulgaris (AV). Objective To evaluate the use of skincare products and the frequency of cosmetic procedures in AV treatment. Methods A total of 1,755 patients with AV completed the survey prepared by the researchers and the Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) questionnaire. The clinical findings and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) severity scores were recorded by the dermatologists. Results For AV, 66.7% of the patients stated that they used skincare products and 26.7% had undergone cosmetic procedures. The use of skincare products was statistically significantly higher in women (female: 74.5%, male: 57.7%, p =%76.8, p < 0.0001). The rate of cosmetic procedures was higher in those with higher CADI scores (users: 7.8 +/- 3.8; non-users: 7.1 +/- 3.96, p < 0.0001); older patients (users: 22.7 +/- 10.7 years; non-users: 21.3 +/- 5 years, p < 0.0001); high school (25.6%); and graduate (28.9%) education (p = 0.043), those with lower disease severity (FDA-1: 31.1%; FDA-2: 28.5%, FDA-3: 27.1%, FDA-4: 20.4%, p = 0.022); smokers (smokers: 32.5%; non-smokers: 25.5%, p = 0.020), and those with AV in the family (present: 29.8%; absent: 24.2%, p = 0.009). The patients most frequently used cleansers (85.2%) as cosmetic products, and most commonly underwent skincare treatment (71%) as an interventional procedure. They mostly learned about such products and methods from the Internet, and 33.3% of the participants had undergone procedures performed by non-physicians. Conclusion The patients generally choose skincare products as a result of their Internet search and sometimes have these procedures performed by non-physicians. Dermatologists should be aware of this situation and inform their patients about appropriate products and procedures

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

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    © 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
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