Management of spasticity in children with cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of spasticity and physical disability in children and spasticity is one of the commonest problems in those with neurological disease. The management of spasticity in children with cerebral palsy requires a multidisciplinary effort and should be started as early as possible. There are a number of treatments available for the management of spasticity. This article reviews the variety of options available for the clinical management of spasticity

[Comparison of impacts of friction massage, stretching exercises and analgesics on pain relief in primary fibromyalgia syndrome: a randomized clinical trial]

Stretching exercises and massage therapy are both suggested for pain relief in fibromyalgia syndrome. Previous studies have not proved their superiority over each other. This study compared the therapeutic effects of friction massage, stretching exercises, and analgesics on pain relief in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. We evaluated 129 female patients with the diagnosis of primary fibromyalgia visited at the physical medicine clinics of Baqiyatallah Hospital in Tehran, Iran during 2010- 2011. Patients were randomly divided into three groups: the first group received 400 mg ibuprofen P.O. [3 times per day] and 25 mg nortriptyline [daily] P.O. as analgesic, the second group was treated by friction massage and the third group performed stretching exercises. Patients were assessed three times [initially, after one and four weeks] by visual analogue scale [VAS]. The mean age of participants was 60.46 years. The mean age in each treatment group was 46.66 years in medication group, 46.73 years in stretching group and 46.65 years in friction massage group. Changes in VAS score over 4 weeks were 2.4, 3.1 and 1.9, in the first, second, and third groups, respectively. The changes in VAS were significantly different in the first and second groups rather than the controls [P<0.05]. The effect of stretch exercise on pain relief was similar to analgesics, but it was more effective than friction massage. Moreover, the therapeutic effect of stretching exercise on pain relief upon four weeks was more permanent than friction massage but it was similar to analgesics

Hospital admission due to nephrological conditions during hajj causes, healthcare use, and short-term outcomes

In this retrospective study, records of Iranian Hajj pilgrims who were hospitalized in 2 Iranian hospitals in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia, from 2005 to 2007, were reviewed of 600 patients who were hospitalized, 12 [2.0%] were admitted due to nephrological causes, which included kidney calculi [n = 7; 58.4%], acute kidney failure [n = 2; 16.7%], urinary tract infection [n = 1; 8.3%], urinary tract infection and urinary calculus [n = 1; 8.3%], and renal malignancy [n = 1; 8.3%]. None of the patients needed referral to other healthcare centers, and all of them were discharged with good condition. Length of hospital stay was 1 to 4 days. There was no association between hospitalization due to nephrological causes and sociodemographic data, healthcare use, and outcome. This inpatient epidemiological study showed 2% of total admissions were related to nephrological conditions in Iranian Hajj pilgrims, most commonly due to easily treated conditions