The effect of aerobic exercise training on postmenopausal patients with knee osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common musculoskeletal problem encountered in the postmenopausal period. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the impact of aerobic exercise on functional limitation, exercise tolerance, and performance tests in postmenopausal women with knee OA. METHODS: A total of 50 women (aged between 48-78) with grade 2-3 knee OA according to the Kellgren-Lawrence radiographic scale were enrolled. OA-specific physical performance tests (40 m Fast-Paced Walk Test (40mFPWT), 30 s Chair Stand Test (30sCST), Stair Climb Test (9-step SCT)), six-minute walk test (6MWT), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were performed. Fifty patients were randomized to either the treatment or control groups. The treatment group received an additional aerobic exercise training along with a combined physiotherapy program for six weeks. The aerobic exercise program was carried out by the same physiotherapist every weekday (five days) for six weeks. The control group only received a combined physiotherapy program for six weeks. RESULTS: The post-treatment comparisons of the two groups yielded similar SCT results (p> 0.05), while VAS scores, the results of all performance tests, WOMAC scores, and the distance covered in 6MWT were significantly higher in the treatment group (p< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Consequently, this study provides an insight into the efficacy of the aerobic exercise program applied along with a combined physiotherapy program in postmenopausal women with knee OA.

Self-Injury and Suicide Attempt in Relation with Trauma and Dissociation among Adolescents with Dissociative and Non-Dissociative Disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of trauma and dissociation over self-injurious behaviors (SIB) and suicide attempts (SA) in adolescents. METHODS: A total of 207 adolescents participated in the study. After conducting diagnostic interview, participants were divided into five groups as subjects with dissociative disorders (DD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders (AD), and a control group (CG) without any psychiatric disorder. ADHD, MDD and AD groups were considered as non-dissociative disorders (non-DD group) in the present study. RESULTS: There is no significant difference between groups in terms of number and age of the subjects (p>0.05). Among all participants SIB was reported in 32.2% of females (n=37) and 25% of males (n=23) while SA was reported in 29.6% of females (n=34) and 4.4% of males (n=4). Adolescents with DD were found to experience higher rates of SIB and SA than the other groups. Dissociation was the most important variable contributing to SIB and female gender was the most efficient variable for SA. Total trauma scores were also found to be significantly higher in DD group followed by non-DD and CG respectively. CONCLUSION: SIB and SA are complex behavioral problems which may be associated with many psychiatric factors. However higher level dissociation seems as an important mediating factor, even regardless of psychiatric diagnosis, in the development of SIB and SA. More research is needed to further explore the factors effective over SIB and SA in adolescents.

The effects of hormone replacement therapy type on pulmonary functions in postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: To study whether hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or Tibolone has an effect on pulmonary function in postmenopausal women. METHODS: Seventy-five postmenopausal women without any risk factor for pulmonary disease were included in this randomized, prospective study. Fifty women had undergone natural menopause and 25 had had a hysterectomy/ooforectomy. Twenty-five natural menopause women were randomly allocated to two groups: 25 patients (Group I) were treated with Tibolone 2.5 mg/day, 25 patients (group II) with Estradiol Hemihidrate 2 mg+Norethindron Asetate 1 mg/day. Twenty-five induced menopause women were treated with 17 beta-estradiol 2 mg/day. Lung function tests including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume (FEV(1)), FEV(1)/FVC, forced expiratory flow rate over the 25-75% of the forced vital capacity volume (FEF(25-75%)), and peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) were evaluated at the beginning and 3 months after the treatment to assess the effects of HRT and Tibolone on respiratory function. RESULTS: Regardless of HRT types a significant difference was observed in FVC and FEV(1) after 3 months of the therapy (P=0.001, 0.0001, respectively). No significant difference was found between pre and post therapy values in the other parameters (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We determined a significant increase in FVC and FEV(1) parameters of pulmonary functions after 3 months of the therapy regardless of HRT types. Therefore, we think that HRT regimens have modifying effects on pulmonary function in postmenopausal women.