The effects of the addition of motor imagery to home exercises on pain,disability and psychosocial parameters in patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery: A randomized controlled trial

ContextPatients who have suffered from persistent symptoms often undergo lumbar spinal surgery (LSS). Motor imagery should be added to postoperative home exercises to reduce patient complaints.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare the effects of home exercise plus motor imagery and only home exercise in patients undergoing LSS.DesignA randomized controlled study.SettingsThis study was designed by researchers at Dokuz Eylul University.ParticipantsThirty-seven patients undergoing LSS were randomized to motor imagery group (n = 19) and control group (n = 18).Main outcome measuresPain was measured by Visual Analogue Scale, disability related to low back pain by Oswestry Disability Index, pain-related fear by Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, depression by Beck Depression Inventory, quality of life by World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF). All assessments were repeated in the preoperative period, three weeks after and six weeks after the surgery.InterventionsMotor imagery group underwent home exercise plus motor imagery program applied by voice recording. Control group underwent only home exercise program. Exercise program compliance was monitored by exercise diary and telephone calls once every week.ResultsThere was a significant improvement in pain at rest and during activity, disability, kinesiophobia, depression, physical health and psychological sub-parameters of WHOQOL-BREF between preoperative period, and the third week and sixth week in both groups (p < 0.05). When comparing groups for gain scores, there was a more significant improvement in pain during activity in motor imagery group (p < 0.05). Motor imagery should be addressed as an effective treatment after LSS.     

Effects of orthodontic force magnitude on cell apoptosis and RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis

Journal of Orofacial Orthopedics / Fortschritte der Kieferorthopädie - The aim of this study was to evaluate the time course of orthodontic force-induced apoptosis and receptor activator of...     

Hesperidin protects testicular and spermatological damages induced by cisplatin in rats

The clinic usage of cisplatin, an anticancer drug, is limited due to it has many side effects in many systems and organs. In this context, it was aimed to investigate the protective effect of hesperidin, a citrus flavonoid, on testicular and spermatological damages induced by cisplatin in rats. The rats were randomly divided into four groups. The first group was kept as a control. In the second groups, cisplatin was given at the single dose of 7 mg kg^?1 intraperitoneally. In the third group, hesperidin was orally administered at the dose of 50 mg/kg day^?1 for 14 days. In the fourth group, cisplatin and hesperidin were given together at the same doses. Cisplatin treatment caused significant reductions enzymatic (SOD, CAT and GPx) and nonenzymatic (GSH) antioxidants and significant induction level of TBARS. In addition, cisplatin treatment caused decreased sperm motility, epididymal sperm concentration, increased abnormal sperm rate and histopathological damage. In contrast, hesperidin treatment significantly attenuated the harmful effects. In conclusion, this study clearly demonstrated that hesperidin has protective effects on cisplatin‐induced reproductive system toxicity depending on its antioxidant properties. Thus, it is thought that hesperidin may be useful against cisplatin toxicity in patients with cancer in terms of reproductive system.     

Serum S100B Protein Levels in Patients with Panic Disorder: Effect of Treatment with Selective Serotonine Reuptake Inhibitors

ObjectiveAltered serum S100B protein levels have been shown in several psychiatric disorders. Our aim was to investigate whether plasma S100B is different in patients with panic disorder (PD) when compared with controls. Our second aim was to investigate whether treatment with SSRIs have an effect on S100B levels in patients with PD.MethodsThe sample included 32 patients diagnosed with PD (21 women, 11 men) per DSM-IV criteria and 21 healthy controls (11 women, 10 men). S100B levels were measured with BioVendor Human S100B ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay) kit.Results14 patients were not on drug treatment (43.8%) while 18 patients were taking various SSRIs. Median S100B value was 151.7 pg/mL (minimum-maximum: 120.4-164.7 pg/mL) in the control group, 147.4 pg/mL (minimum-maximum: 138.8-154.1 pg/mL) in the drug free group and 153.0 pg/mL (minimum-maximum: 137.9-164.7 pg/mL) in the treatment group. Kruskal-Wallis analysis showed a significant diffrerence among the three groups (z=9.9, df=2, p=0.007). Follow up Mann-Whitney-U tests indicated that while the control and the patients with treatment were not significantly different (z=-0.05, p=0.96), there were significant differences between the control group and untreated patients (z=-2.6, p=0.009) and treated and untreated patients (z=-3.0, p=0.003).ConclusionOur results suggested that, serum S100B protein level might be decreased in untreated PD patients and that patients who were treated with SSRIs had similar S100B level to healthy controls.     

The effect of defective early phase insulin secretion on postload glucose intolerance in impaired fasting glucose

Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) are two risk groups for type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is characterized by both impaired insulin secretion and insulin resistance but their relative contribution to the development of hyperglycemia may differ due to heterogeneity of the disease. Combined glucose intolerance (CGI), on the other hand, seems to represent a more advanced stage of prediabetes that bears a distinctly higher risk of progression to diabetes and its comorbidities. This study has the aim to compare isolated IFG and CGI categories with respect to the degree of early phase insulin secretion abnormalities and insulin resistance. Subjects who had IFG (fasting glucose: 110-126 mg/dl) were included in the study. A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) with insulin response was done and subjects were classified according to the WHO criteria. Six subjects were excluded because they had diabetic glucose tolerance. A total of 66 patients (53.4 +/- 11.1 years, female/male: 48/18) were divided into two groups according to their glucose tolerance in OGGT (Group 1: isolated IFG and group 2: CGI). Early phase insulin secretion was measured by intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) and OGTT. Insulin resistance was assessed by the R value of the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA). We did not find any statistically significant difference between groups according to age, gender, body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose, fasting insulin, insulin-AUC (0-180 min) and HOMA-R values. In OGGT there was no statistically significant difference between 0', 30', 60' and 90' insulin levels of the groups; only 120' and 180' insulin levels were higher in CGI than in IFG group (p<0.05). In IVGTT, there was no statistically significant difference between glucose levels of the groups. Furthermore, insulin response to intravenous glucose was higher in IFG than in CGI (p<0.05). Our data demonstrate that isolated IFG and CGI are similar with respect to the degree of insulin resistance, and that subjects with CGI had a more prominent deficit in early phases of insulin secretion.