Femoral cartilage thickness measurements in healthy individuals: learning, practicing and publishing with TURK-MUSCULUS.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Measurement of the femoral cartilage thickness by using in-vivo musculoskeletal ultrasonography (MSUS) has been previously shown to be a valid and reliable method in previous studies; however, to our best notice, normative data has not been provided before in the healthy population.The aim of our study was to provide normative data regarding femoral cartilage thicknesses of healthy individuals with collaborative use of MSUS. METHODS: This is across-sectional study run at Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Departments of 18 Secondary and Tertiary Centers in Turkey. 1544 healthy volunteers (aged between 25-40 years) were recruited within the collaboration of TURK-MUSCULUS (Turkish Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography Study Group). Subjects who had a body mass index value of less than 30 and who did not have signs and symptoms of any degenerative/inflammatory arthritis or other rheumatic diseases, history of knee trauma and previous knee surgery were enrolled. Ultrasonographic measurements were performed axially from the suprapatellar window by using linear probes while subjects' knees were in maximum flexion. Three (mid-point) measurements were taken from both knees (lateral condyle, intercondylar area, medial condyle). RESULTS: A total of 2876 knees (of 817 M, 621 F subjects) were taken into analysis after exclusion of inappropriate images. Mean cartilage thicknesses were significantly lower in females than males (all p< 0.001). Thickness values negatively correlated with age; negatively (females) and positively (males) correlated with smoking. Men who regularly exercised had thicker cartilage than who did not exercise (all p < 0.05). Increased age (in both sexes) and absence of exercise (males) were found to be risk factors for decreased cartilage thicknesses. CONCLUSION: Further data pertaining to other countries would be interesting to uncover whether ethnic differences also affect cartilage thickness. Collaborative use of MSUS seems to be promising in this regard.

Etiological factors of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic injury of peripheral nerves is a worldwide problem and can result in significant disability. Management of peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs) requires accurate localization and the assessment of severity of the lesion. AIM: The purpose of this study is to analyze the data of patients with PNIs referred for electromyography to a tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study of clinical and electromyographic data of patients with PNIs seen over a period of eight-years (1999-2007) in a tertiary hospital. The data collected included: Demographic data, cause, type of lesion, anatomical location of the lesion, and the mechanism of lesion. RESULTS: During the study period 938 patients were seen with nerve injuries and the distribution of nerve injuries was: PNIs: 1,165; brachial plexus lesions: 76; and lumbar plexus lesions: 7. The mean age was 31.8 years (range 2-81 years) and the male to female ratio was 2.4:1. The most frequent nerve injuries were ulnar nerve in the upper extremity and sciatic nerve in the lower extremity. The most common cause of nerve injury was motor vehicle accidents. Two-thirds of the PNIs were partial. CONCLUSION: This study can serve as a guide to determine the epidemiology and classification of traumatic peripheral and plexus injuries.

Hysterical paralysis.

Hysterical paralysis is an uncommon type of conversion disorder. It can be difficult to diagnose. In cases in which symptoms are difficult to explain neuroanatomically or are functionally inconsistent, hysteria should enter into the differential diagnosis. We report a case of hysterical paralysis that had rapid improvement using physical therapy and antidepressant therapy.

Quality of life and life satisfaction in patients with Behçet's disease: relationship with disease activity.

Quality of life (QoL) and life satisfaction (LS) are important outcome factors in chronic inflammatory conditions such as Behçet's disease (BD). The aim of this study was to investigate QoL and LS in patients with BD and determine the relationship with disease activity. Forty-one patients with BD and 40 control subjects were involved in the study. Demographic properties were obtained. Disease activity was assessed by Turkish version of BD Current Activity Form (BDCAF) in BD patients. QoL and psychological well-being were assessed by Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and Life Satisfaction Index (LSI), respectively, in both patients and control groups. The related disease activity measures of QoL and LS were determined. Twenty-two male and 19 female BD patients with a mean age of 33.3+/-9.3 years and 20 male and 20 female control subjects with a mean age of 33.3+/-4.1 years were involved. According to BDCAF, no patient had central nervous system involvement. Thirty-four patients had headache, 33 patients had fatigue, 30 patients had articular involvement, 29 had mucocutaneous lesions, 27 had gastrointestinal involvement, 21 patients had ocular involvement, and 7 patients had vascular involvement. The scores of all dimensions of NHP were significantly higher and the mean score of LSI was significantly lower in BD patients than in control subjects (p<0.001). Correlation analysis indicated that the scores of fatigue, joint involvement, and oral ulcers were the most related factors for physical domains of NHP, whereas joint involvement and genital ulcers were the most related activity measures for psychosocial subscales of NHP. LS was found to be most related with the scores of patient's and physician's impression of disease activity and joint involvement. In conclusion, patients with BD have impaired QoL and disturbed psychological well-being. Current management strategies focusing on fatigue, arthralgia, mucocutaneous lesions, and efforts to measure psychosocial aspects and symptoms of the patients by their point of view will help to improve QoL and raise the LS in patients suffering from BD.