The effect of danger-associated molecular patterns on survival in acute graft versus host disease.

Danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are molecules that can initiate and maintain robust inflammatory responses and were investigated in the pathogenesis of graft versus host disease (GvHD). Uric acid (UA) and fibrinogen (Fib) are DAMPs released from damaged tissue during allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) and GvHD. We aimed to evaluate the effects of UA and Fib levels on survival in GvHD. One hundred seventy-four patients with grade 2-4 acute GvHD were included. UA and Fib levels were evaluated on allo-HCT day 0 and GvHD on days 0, 7, 14, and 28. Fib GvHD day 0 was the independent predictor for overall survival (OS), non-relapse mortality (NRM), and progression-free survival in multivariable models (HR 0.98, p < 0.001; HR 0.98, p = 0.001, HR 0.98, p = 0.006, respectively). Also UA GvHD day 28 was the independent predictor for OS and NRM (HR 0.77, p = 0.004; HR 0.76, p = 0.011, respectively). Our results indicated that hypouricemia and hypofibrinogenemia were associated with a significantly shorter OS and higher NRM. UA and Fib are remarkable molecules in GvHD because they are routinely utilized, readily available, can be therapeutic targets, and have DAMPs and antioxidant features.

The impact of diabetes mellitus on hematopoietic stem cell mobilization, a-single center cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Factors such as age, underlying hematological disease, chemotherapy and radiotherapy used, and bone marrow infiltration may cause mobilization failure. Several preclinical observed that diabetes mellitus (DM) leads to profound remodeling of the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche, resulting in the impaired release of HSCs. We aim to examine the effect of DM on HSC mobilization and to investigate whether there is a relationship between complications developing in the DM process and drugs used to treat DM and mobilization failure. METHODS: In Erciyes University Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, 218 patients who underwent apheresis for stem cell mobilization between 2011 and 2021 were evaluated retrospectively. One hundred and nine patients had a diagnosis of DM, and 109 did not. RESULTS: Mobilization failure developed in 17 (15.6 %) of the patients in the DM group, while it developed in 7 (6.4 %) patients in the non-DM group (p = 0.03). CD34+ stem cell count was 8.05 (1.3-30.2) × 106/kg in the DM group, while it was 8.2 (1.7-37.3) × 106/kg in the other group (p = 0.55). There was no statistically significant relationship between glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels and the amount of CD34+ cells (p = 0.83 and p = 0.14, respectively). Using sulfonylurea was the only independent predictor of mobilization failure (OR 5.75, 95 % CI: 1.38-24.05, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: DM should be considered a risk factor for mobilization failure. Further research is needed fully to understand the mechanisms underlying the mobilization failure effects of sulfonylureas and to develop strategies to improve stem cell mobilization in diabetic patients.

Fludarabine-induced bradycardia in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION: Fludarabine, a purine analog, is getting more attention with the increasing use of reduced intensive conditioning regimens in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The side effect of bradycardia was observed in only a few cases reported in the literature. In clinical practice, bradycardia can be asymptomatic or cause syncope and cardiac arrest. This study aimed to evaluate the bradycardia side effect of fludarabine used in the conditioning regimen in allo-HSCT recipients and to increase awareness of this issue. METHODS: This retrospective study included 73 patients who received fludarabine in the allo-HSCT conditioning regimen between January 2015 and January 2021. Patients with and without bradycardia were compared regarding demographic data, allo-HSCT characteristics, electrolyte values, fludarabine administration dose and duration, and survival. Univariate and multivariate analyzes were performed to evaluate independent predictors for fludarabine-induced bradycardia. RESULTS: Fludarabine administration doses and days were higher in the bradycardia group, but no statistically significant difference was observed. In the multivariate analysis, age was the only independent predictor of fludarabine-induced bradycardia (odds ratio (OR) 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.89-0.98, p = 0.007). The median age in the group with bradycardia was 19 years younger than those without bradycardia (34 (19-49) vs 53 (19-69), p = 0.005). In 11 (84.6%) of the patients who had bradycardia, bradycardia improved with the discontinuation of fludarabine alone, but atropine was administered in 2 (15.4%) patients. CONCLUSION: Age was the only independent predictor of fludarabine-induced bradycardia; therefore, close heart rate monitoring is recommended during fludarabine administration, especially in younger patients.

Coronavirus Anxiety Level and COVID-19 Vaccine Attitude Among Patients With Hematological Malignancies.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 vaccine is the most essential tool for altering the pandemic's trajectory. The pandemic's control is complicated by society's unwillingness to vaccinate. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess patients with hematological malignancies and their attitudes regarding COVID-19 immunization and to investigate COVID-19 anxiety in this susceptible population. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 165 patients with hematological malignancies were included. COVID-19 anxiety was evaluated with the coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS), and COVID-19 vaccine attitude was evaluated with the Vaccine Attitudes Review (VAX) scale. RESULTS: The mean CAS score was 2.42 (0-17). There were 22 (13%) participants with a mean CAS score of ≥ 9. Half of the participants had a CAS score of 0. The CAS score was higher in females (p = 0.023). Similarly, it was significantly higher in patients who were not in remission for hematological malignancy and who received active chemotherapy (p = 0.010). The mean VAX score was 49.07 ± 8.76 (27-72). Most of the participants (64%) had a neutral attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccination. In a survey of 165 patients, 55% said that they were skeptical about vaccination safety, and 58% said that they were concerned about unintended side effects. In addition, 90% expressed moderate concerns about commercial profiteering. Natural immunity was preferred by 30% of the participants. There was no statistically significant correlation between CAS scores and the Vaccine Attitudes Review (VAX) scale. CONCLUSION: This study draws attention to the level of anxiety in patients with hematological malignancies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Negative attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine are worrisome for at-risk patient groups. We think that patients with hematological malignancies should be informed to eliminate their hesitations about COVID-19 vaccines.

Reductive Al-B σ-Bond Formation in Alumaboranes: Facile Scission of Polar Multiple Bonds.

We present facile access to an alumaborane species with electron precise Al-B σ-bond. The reductive rearrangement of 1-(AlI2 ), 8-(BMes2 ) naphthalene (Mes=2,4,6-Me3 C6 H2 ) affords the alumaborane species cyclo-(1,8-C10 H6 )-[1-Al(Mes)(OEt2 )-8-B(Mes)] with a covalent Al-B σ-bond. The Al-B σ-bond performs the reductive scission of multiple bonds: S=C(NiPrCMe)2 affords the naphthalene bridged motif B-S-Al(NHC), NHC=N-heterocyclic carbene, while O=CPh2 is deoxygenated to afford an B-O-Al bridged species with incorporation of the remaining ≡CPh2 fragment into the naphthalene scaffold. The reaction with isonitrile Xyl-N≡C (Xyl=2,6-Me2 C6 H4 ) proceeds via a proposed (amino boryl) carbene species; which adds a second equivalent of isonitrile to ultimately form the Al-N-B bridged species cyclo-(1,8-C10 H6 )-[1-Al(Mes)-N(Xyl)-8-B{C(Mes)=C-N-Xyl}] with complete scission of the C≡N triple bond. The latter reaction is supported with isolated intermediates and by DFT calculations.

Secondary Hypogammaglobulinemia in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Receiving Ibrutinib Therapy.

Secondary hypogammaglobulinemia (SHG) is characterized by a decrease in total serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels and can lead to immunodeficiency associated with recurrent and severe infections and is a common complication of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). SHG also increases with the treatment of CLL. Ibrutinib is one of these treatments and acts by inhibiting bruton tyrosine kinase. Twenty-seven patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) CLL who received ibrutinib monotherapy were included. IgG levels, stage, bulky disease, previous treatments, genetics and laboratory features, overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were compared with and without SHG. Nine patients (33.3%) had SHG and 18 patients (66.6%) didn't have SHG. The mean IgG levels after ibrutinib treatment first, third, 6th and 12th months were 684, 531.3, 452 and 360 mg/dL respectively in SHG arm (p < 0.001) and 1156, 1058.2, 1012.8 and 886.9 mg/dL respectively in without SHG arm (p < 0.001). All patients with SHG had ibrutinib related other adverse effects(AEs) but 2 (11.1%) patients without SHG had AEs (p < 0.001). In SHG arm 7 (77.7%) had complete and partial remission but in other arm only 6 (33.3%) had (p: 0.029). There was no significant difference in OS and PFS (p values 0.95 and 0.64, respectively). IgG levels at the beginning of ibrutinib treatment is the best predicted value for SHG development in our study (p = 0.001). As a result, we reported a significant decrease in IgG values after ibrutinib monotherapy in R/R CLL patients. This decrease occurs every month after ibrutinib use, but after a maximum of 1 year. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12288-021-01466-1.

Evaluation of COVID-19 fear and quality of life in patients with haematopoietic stem cell transplantation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) fear state in haematopoietic stem cell transplant patients and to examine its relationship with quality of life. METHODS: In this prospective study, 64 patients who underwent HSCT during the pandemic were included. The COVID-19 fear situation was evaluated with the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). Quality of life was evaluated with the European Organisation for Quality of Life Research and Treatment Core Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) (Version 3). RESULTS: The median FCV-19S score was 16.5 (12.0-22.0). The FCV-19S score was significantly higher in urban residents than rural residents. The general health score was 59.64 ± 20.04. The strongest positive correlation between fear level and life quality was found in emotional function. A weak, significant, positive correlation was observed between role function, nausea-vomiting, pain, appetite loss and fear level. CONCLUSION: FCV-19S is a quick, safe and valid tool that can be used to determine the COVID-19 fear level in vulnerable patient groups such as HSCT patients and to direct them to the necessary psycho-oncological support.

Reactions of a Four-Membered Borete with Carbon, Silicon, and Gallium Donor Ligands: Fused and Spiro-Type Boracycles.

Donor-acceptor cyclopropanes or cyclobutanes are dipolar reagents, which are widely used in the synthesis of complex organic (hetero)cycles in ring expansion reactions. Applying this concept to boron containing heterocycles, the four-membered borete cyclo-iPr2 N-BC10 H6 reacted with the carbon donor ligands 2,6-xylylisonitrile and the carbene IMes :C(NMesCH)2 with ring expansion and ring fusion, respectively. In particular, the tetracyclic structure formed with IMes displays zwitterionic character and absorption in the visible region. In contrast to the carbene IMes, the heavier carbenoids :Si(NDippCH)2 and :Ga(AmIm) with a two-coordinate donor atom afford spiro-type bicyclic compounds, which display four-coordinate geometry at silicon or gallium. (TD-)DFT calculations provide deeper insight into the mechanism of formation and the absorption properties of these new compounds.

Eltrombopag for Treatment of Thrombocytopenia Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of eltrombopag (ELT) in the treatment of thrombocytopenia following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Materials and Methods: Forty-eight patients treated with ELT for thrombocytopenia after allogeneic or autologous transplantation at the Erciyes University Bone Marrow Transplantation Center between July 2017 and July 2021 were evaluated retrospectively. Results: Forty-eight HSCT recipients were included in this study. Thirty (62.5%) patients were evaluated as having experienced delayed platelet recovery (DPR) and 18 (37.5%) patients as having experienced secondary failure of platelet recovery (SFPR). The median platelet count before ELT treatment was 13x109/L (range: 3-20x109/L). Twenty-three patients responded to treatment and the cumulative incidence of successful platelet recovery was 48%. Patients with both DPR and SFPR responded, but patients with DPR had a higher response rate (50% vs. 44%). The median platelet count of the 23 responding patients was 12x109/L (5-19x109/L) before treatment and 68x109/L (52-266x109/L) after treatment (p<0.0001). While the number of bone marrow megakaryocytes before treatment was adequate in 22 (46%) cases, it was decreased in 26 (54%) cases. Patients with adequate bone marrow megakaryocytes had a better response rate than those without (77% vs. 23%, p<0.0001). The group with adequate megakaryocytes responded to treatment at a median of 33 days (range: 9-174 days). Patients with decreased megakaryocytes responded at a median of 55 days (30-164 days) (p=0.002). No drug-related side effects were observed in any patients. Conclusion: This real-life experience demonstrates that ELT is an effective and safe treatment option for thrombocytopenia after HSCT. The adequacy of bone marrow megakaryocytes before ELT treatment was an important factor affecting response to treatment.

Castleman Disease: A Multicenter Case Series from Turkey

Objective: Castleman disease (CD) is a rare disease also known as angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia. The two main histological subtypes are the hyaline vascular and plasma cell variants. It is further classified as unicentric CD (UCD) or multicentric CD (MCD) according to the anatomical distribution of the disease and the number of lymph nodes involved. The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate all cases of CD identified to date in Turkey to set up a national registry to improve the early recognition, treatment, and follow-up of CD. Materials and Methods: Both adult (n=130) and pediatric (n=10) patients with lymph node or involved field biopsy results reported as CD were included in the study. Patients' demographic information, clinical and laboratory characteristics, imaging study results, treatment strategies, and clinical outcomes were evaluated retrospectively. Results: A total of 140 patients (69 male and 71 female) with a diagnosis of UCD (n=73) or MCD (n=67) were included. The mean age was 39 years in the UCD group and 47 years in the MCD group. Female patients were more common in the UCD group. The most common histological subtype was hyaline vascular for both UCD and MCD patients. Asymptomatic patients were more common in the UCD group. Anemia, elevations of acute phase reactants, and hypoalbuminemia were more common in the MCD group. The most commonly used treatment strategies for UCD were surgical excision, rituximab, and radiotherapy, respectively. All UCD patients were alive at a median of 19.5 months of follow-up. The most commonly used treatment strategies for MCD were methyl prednisolone, R-CHOP, R-CVP, and rituximab. Thirteen MCD patients had died at a median of 34 months of follow-up. Conclusion: This study is important in presenting the patient characteristics and treatment strategies for CD from Turkey, with the potential of increasing awareness about CD. Treatment data may help in making decisions, particularly in countries that do not have access to siltuximab. However, larger prospective studies are needed to make definitive conclusions.

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 in Turkish Patients with Hematological Malignancies

Objective: Patients with solid malignancies are more vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection than the healthy population. The outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in highly immunosuppressed populations, such as in patients with hematological malignancies, is a point of interest. We aimed to analyze the symptoms, complications, intensive care unit admissions, and mortality rates of patients with hematological malignancies infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Turkey. Materials and Methods: In this multicenter study, we included 340 adult and pediatric patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 from March to November 2020. Diagnosis and status of primary disease, treatment schedules for hematological malignancies, time from last treatment, life expectancy related to the hematological disease, and comorbidities were recorded, together with data regarding symptoms, treatment, and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: Forty four patients were asymptomatic at diagnosis of SARS-CoV- 2 infection. Among symptomatic patients, fever, cough, and dyspnea were observed in 62.6%, 48.8%, and 41.8%, respectively. Sixty-nine (20%) patients had mild SARS-CoV-2 disease, whereas moderate, severe, and critical disease was reported in 101 (29%), 71 (20%), and 55 (16%) patients, respectively. Of the entire cohort, 251 (73.8%) patients were hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2. Mortality related to SARS-CoV-2 infection was 26.5% in the entire cohort; this comprised 4.4% of those patients with mild disease, 12.4% of those with moderate disease, and 83% of those with severe or critical disease. Active hematological disease, lower life expectancy related to primary hematological disease, neutropenia at diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, ICU admission, and first-line therapy used for coronavirus disease-2019 treatment were found to be related to higher mortality rates. Treatments with hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin were associated with a higher rate of mortality in comparison to favipiravir use. Conclusion: Patients with hematological malignancy infected with SARS-CoV-2 have an increased risk of severe disease and mortality.

Kinematic analysis of handwriting movements and pencil grip patterns in children with low vision.

PURPOSE: Handwriting skills are important for the academic life of children and the lack of visual-motor performance leads to writing problems in children with low vision. This study aims to reveal handwriting kinematics and pencil grip features in children with low vision by means of a novel method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 18 children with low vision (mean age: 9.83 ± 1.54 years) and 18 children with typical development (mean age: 9.83 ± 1.62 years) were included in the study. Children performed a sentence writing task on a digitizer tablet. During the task, the writing hand of children was photographed to analyze pencil grip patterns. RESULTS: Children with low vision performed greater stroke size except for the vertical size, slower writing speed, more dysfluent movements, and less pen pressure than children with typical development. However, participants preferred mature pencil grip patterns and had high grip scores independent from the diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that children with low vision have difficulties in handwriting in terms of spatial and temporal features. These results would be important for interventions to develop specific programs on writing skills to support their educational life.

Low-dose cyclophosphamide and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor are sufficient for peripheral blood stem cell mobilization in patients with multiple myeloma.

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), supported by high-dose chemotherapy, is the prevalent option for multiple myeloma (MM) treatment in candidates suitable for transplantation. Although granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) supported cyclophosphamide (CY) is used as the pre-ASCT mobilization regimen, there is no consensus on the optimal dosage of CY. Thus, in this study, we examined the results of 47 MM patients, who underwent ASCT after mobilization with intermediate (ID) or low-dose (LD) CY treatment supported with G-CSF. As the mobilization regimen, we used ID (2.4 g/m2) of CY in 22 patients, and LD (1 g/m2) of CY in 25 patients. Adequate doses of CD34+ cells were collected in both groups. At the same time, febrile neutropenia was observed to be less common in patients in the LD-CY group. Additionaly 96% of patients in LD-CY group did not need to be hospitalized during the mobilization. In conclusion, we think that mobilization with LD-CY and G-CSF is advantageous since it results in a sufficient amount of stem cells in addition to being advantageous in terms of patient safety and cost.

Patterns of Hydroxyurea Prescription and Use in Routine Clinical Management of Polycythemia Vera: A Multicenter Chart Review Study

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate real-life data on patterns of hydroxyurea prescription/use in polycythemia vera (PV). Materials and Methods: This retrospective chart review study included PV patients who had received hydroxyurea therapy for at least 2 months after PV diagnosis. Data were collected from 10 representative academic medical centers. Results: Of 657 patients, 50.9% were in the high-risk group (age ≥60 years and/or history of thromboembolic event). The median duration of hydroxyurea therapy was 43.40 months for all patients; 70.2% of the patients had ongoing hydroxyurea therapy at last follow-up. Hydroxyurea was discontinued in 22.4% of the patients; the most common reason was death (38.5%). The predicted time until hydroxyurea discontinuation was 187.8 months (standard error: ±21.7) for all patients. This duration was shorter in females (140.3±37.7 vs. 187.8±29.7) (p=0.08). This trend was also observed in surviving patients aged ≥50 years at hydroxyurea initiation (122.2±12.4 vs. 187.8±30.7, p=0.03). Among the patients who were still on hydroxyurea therapy, 40.3% had a hematocrit concentration of ≥45% at their last follow-up visit, and the rate of patients with at least one elevated blood cell count was 67.8%. Conclusion: Hydroxyurea prescription patterns and treatment aims are frequently not in accordance with the guideline recommendations. Its discontinuation rate is higher in females.

Association between blood loss at delivery and fatigue in the puerperium: a prospective longitudinal study.

Objective: The objective was to investigate the association between blood loss at delivery and physical and mental fatigue during the first 12 weeks postpartum. We also investigated the association between hemoglobin and postpartum fatigue.Methods: We performed a single center prospective longitudinal study of healthy women with a singleton delivery. Women completed the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at 3 and 7 d, 3, 8 and 12 weeks postpartum. The hemoglobin level was measured at inclusion (baseline).Results: A total of 196 women with blood loss at delivery ranging from 100 to 2800 mL were included in the study. At 12 weeks follow-up the response rate was 92% (n = 181). We found a significant association between blood loss and scores of physical and mental fatigue within the first week postpartum. When adjusted for bleeding, hemoglobin measured at inclusion was not associated with fatigue at any given time point.Conclusions: The amount of measured blood loss was significantly associated with increased physical and mental fatigue in the first week postpartum. When adjusted for bleeding, baseline hemoglobin was no longer associated with physical and mental fatigue.

Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil-platelet score and prognostic nutritional index: do they have prognostic significance in metastatic pancreas cancer?

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-platelet score (NPS) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) as proinflammatory markers in metastatic pancreas cancer (MPC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 146 MPC patients followed up at our center were evaluated retrospectively for clinicopathological characteristics and hematological ratios (NLR, PLR, NPS and PNI). PNI was calculated as (10 × serum albumin [g/dL]) + (0.005 × peripheral lymphocyte count [per mm³]). Log rank and Cox regression analysis were used. RESULTS: Median age was 53 years (range: 22-78) with male predominance (73.3%). Liver (94.7%) was the most common site for metastasis. Half (53.4%) of the patients had ECOG-PS <2; 18% had cholestasis. Palliative chemotherapy predominantly gemcitabine was given to 86.3% of the patients. Clinical benefit rate was 58.2% and objective response rate (ORR) was 23%. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 6.3 months (95% CI: 5.2-7.8) and 4.9 months (95% CI: 3.6-6.1). Age (p = .003), ECOG-PS (p = .0001), palliative chemotherapy (p = .002), cholestasis (p = .001) and NLR (p = .001) were statistically significant but PLR (p = .062), NPS (p = .86) and PNI (p = .51) were not significant in univariate analysis. Age (HR 1.026, 95% CI: 1.007-1.045, p = .007), ECOG-PS (HR 0.299, 95% CI: 0.202-0.443, p = .0001), cholestasis (HR 0.541, 95% CI: 0.325-0.901, p = .01) and NLR (HR 1.076, 95% CI: 1.025-1.130, p = .003) were significant prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Basal high NLR (>3), advanced age (>60 years), poor ECOG-PS (>2) and cholestasis were independent poor prognostic factors in MPC. However, PNI, NPS and PLR had no prognostic significance (p = .51, p = .86 and p = .062, respectively).

Comparison of the long-term effectiveness of progressive neuromuscular facilitation and continuous passive motion therapies after total knee arthroplasty.

[Purpose] The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the long term functional effectiveness of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) after total knee arthroplasty. [Subjects and Methods] We included 30 patients and they were randomly assigned to two groups. In addition to the standard rehabilitation program the PNF group received proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation therapy and the CPM group received continuous passive motion therapy. The outcome measures included range of motion using a goniometer, pain scores using a numeric pain rating scale, days to reach functional benchmarks, the Beck depression scale and isokinetic torque and isometric strength measurements. [Results] There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of baseline demographic data, clinical findings and length of stay. Days to reach range of motion benchmarks were similar in the two groups. Pain at the 8th week was slightly higher in the PNF group. With the exception of walking with a walker, days to reach functional benchmarks were statistically significantly fewer in patients of the PNF group despite similar isokinetic measurements. Administration of PNF resulted in earlier functional gains in patients after total knee arthroplasty. These functional accomplishments were more pronounced in the PNF group despite it having isokinetic torque measurements similar to those of the CPM group. [Conclusion] PNF techniques can positively affect functional outcomes over the long term.

Evalution of Mulligan's technique for adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate Mulligan's technique for relieving pain and improving functional capacity of the shoulder in patients with adhesive capsulitis in the stiffness phase. DESIGN: Randomized controlled study. METHODS: A total of 40 subjects were randomly allocated into 2 groups: (i) group 1 (n = 20) were treated with hot pack, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and passive stretching exercises; (ii) group 2 (n = 20) were treated with hot pack, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and Mulligan's technique. Mulligan's technique combines the sustained application of a manual "gliding" force to a joint, with the aim of repositioning bone positional faults while enabling concurrent physiological (osteo-kinematic) motion of the joint. All cases were evaluated using visual analogue scales for pain, passive and active range of motion, Constant score, Shoulder Disability Questionnaire, and patient and therapist satisfaction at baseline, after completion of treatment sessions and at the end of 3 months of follow-up. RESULTS: Marked improvement was noted in both groups after completion of treatment sessions and at the third month of follow-up compared with baseline. The improvements in outcome measures, namely pain, range of motion, shoulder scores, and patient and physiotherapist satisfaction, were significantly greater in subjects in group 2, who were treated with Mulligan's technique. CONCLUSION: Mulligan's technique and passive stretching exercises are both effective in reducing pain, and restoring range of motion and function. However, compared with stretching exercises, Mulligan's technique led to better improvements in terms of pain, range of motion, shoulder scores, and patient and physiotherapist satisfaction.

Health-related quality of life in patients with myofascial pain syndrome.

Health-related quality of life is being emphasized because people who are living with a chronic illness are demanding that the qualities of their lives are enhanced. Health-related quality of life defines the effects of diseases or symptoms including musculoskeletal conditions on functioning and a sense of well being. This review highlights the results of quality-of-life measurements in patients with myofascial pain syndrome while providing a comparison with various musculoskeletal disorders, emphasizing the domains that are affected for each specific disease. Also, myofascial pain studies that included quality-of-life measurement as an outcome variable are considered.

Chondroprotective effect of N-acetylglucosamine and hyaluronate in early stages of osteoarthritis--an experimental study in rabbits.

Osteoarthritis, the most common joint disease in the world, is characterized by joint pain, stiffness, and limitation of range of motion. Osteoarthritis is a slowly progressive disease and its morbidity increases with age. The most commonly involved sites are the spine, knee, hip, and hand joints. Although the ideal treatment for osteoarthritis should be the one that acts on the underlying mechanism, thus preventing joint destruction and disease progression, such an effective treatment option does not exist. Therefore, contemporary treatment aims to relieve pain, increase range of motion, and optimize joint function. Analgesics and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs are most commonly used for the symptomatic treatment, but mainly their gastrointestinal side effects, especially in elderly patients, limit their usage. In this study, the chondroprotective effects of an aminomonosaccharide glucosamine and a polysaccharide hyaluronic acid in a rabbit osteoarthritis model were investigated. Anterior cruciate ligament transection was performed in 32 New Zealand rabbits to establish a model of osteoarthritis. Rabbits were randomized into four groups, each consisting of eight rabbits. Two weeks after the operation, intraarticular injections were performed to the right knees once a week for 5 weeks; intraarticular glucosamine to the first group, intraarticular hyaluronate to the second group, intraarticular hyaluronate and intramuscular glucosamine to the third group, and intraarticular saline solution to the fourth group, which served as the control group. At the end of the eighth week, the rabbits were sacrificed and their right knees with proximal femur and distal tibia were harvested. Joint surfaces of their femur and tibia were examined macroscopically, and sections from the medial femoral condyles were examined microscopically. Macroscopic evaluation revealed that the cartilage surface was preserved in the glucosamine, hyaluronate, and hyaluronate plus glucosamine groups, when compared with the control group. Microscopic evaluation showed that glucosamine, hyaluronate, and glucosamine plus hyaluronate have chondroprotective effect, but no statistically significant difference was found between study groups.