Relationship between quality of life, self-efficacy and social support in patients with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) causes patients' perceptions of self-efficacy and social support to decline. Patients with MS have to change day-to-day activities and encounter various physical and psychosocial problems while adapting to the new lifestyle. AIMS: The research aimed to define the quality of life, self-efficacy and social support in patients with MS and to determine the relationship between quality of life, perception of self-efficacy and perceived social support. It is descriptive and correlational research. Data were collected using surveys. METHODS: The sample consisted of 116 patients with MS. Patients who applied at the neurology in-patient and outpatient clinics between March 2021 and September 2021 were assessed for inclusion criteria. Written and verbal consent was obtained. The patients read and answered the questionnaires. Their quality of life was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis Scale (FAMS). Self-efficacy perception was measured using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), and social support was assessed using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). RESULTS: The study found that the other concerns, symptoms, thinking and fatigue were most negatively affected the quality of life subscales. Perception of self-efficacy was found to be moderate, while social support was high. Analyses revealed a positive correlation between MSPSS scores, FAMS scores and GSE scores (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Health professionals need to provide education and counselling to manage MS-related symptoms, use therapeutic communication techniques to improve self-efficacy, give positive reinforcement and cooperate with families to increase social support.

High Throughput FISH Analysis: A New, Sensitive Option For Evaluation of Hematological Malignancies.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of the high throughput FISH analysis (HTFA) method for detecting genetic alterations in hematological malignancies, which is a new bacterial artificial chromosome array-based approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a HTFA study of bone marrow aspiration and peripheral blood samples of 77 cases (n=19 myelodysplastic syndrome, n=17 acute lymphoblastic leukemia, n=9 chronic myeloid leukemia, n=32 acute myeloid leukemia) with hematological malignancies during the periods of initial diagnosis, treatment, and/or follow-up. RESULTS: Both numerical and structural abnormalities were detected by HTFA. We observed aberrations in 88% of our acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients, 25% of acute myeloid leukemia patients, and 31% of myelodysplastic syndrome patients. In chronic myeloid leukemia cases, aberration was not detected by HTFA. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that HTFA, combined with other methods, will gradually take a place in the routine diagnosis of hematologic malignancies. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None declared.