Publications by authors named "Ilknur Aktas"

Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the effectiveness of acupuncture in alleviating pain and improving function, range of motion, and quality of life in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS), compared to sham acupuncture.
  • A randomized controlled trial with 80 participants showed that the acupuncture group experienced significant improvements in all measured outcomes, including pain and range of motion, over the control group.
  • The findings suggest that acupuncture is a safe and effective non-invasive treatment option for SIS, with benefits lasting at least one month after treatment.
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  • The study focused on understanding how common fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) and widespread pain are among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), while also examining related clinical and demographic factors.
  • Conducted over 14 centers in Türkiye, the research included 661 patients, differentiating those with FS from those with widespread pain but not meeting FS criteria.
  • Results showed that significant percentages of both RA (34.1% with FS) and AS (29.2% with FS) patients had high polysymptomatic distress (PSD) scores, indicating a high level of discomfort and symptomatology associated with their conditions.
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  • Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition often associated with enthesitis, which is the inflammation of tendon and ligament insertion sites, particularly in those with psoriatic arthritis.
  • The study evaluates the Madrid Sonography Enthesitis Index to accurately detect subclinical enthesitis in psoriasis patients compared to healthy individuals and monitors changes over one year.
  • Results show significantly higher enthesitis scores and other measurements in psoriasis patients, highlighting the importance of ultrasonography for early detection and regular monitoring of enthesitis regardless of disease severity.
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Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the validity and reliability of the Selective Control of Upper Extremity Scale (SCUES) in patients with stroke.

Materials And Methods: Forty-two patients with stroke aged 18-75 years, were included in the study. Patients were video-recorded while SCUES was administered.

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  • A study was conducted to assess retinal and choroidal characteristics in fibromyalgia (FM) patients, comparing them to healthy controls, using advanced imaging techniques called spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
  • The study involved 39 FM patients and 44 healthy subjects, measuring key retinal metrics like retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and choroidal thickness (CT), and found that FM patients had notably thinner RNFL and CT, along with a higher choroidal vascular index (CVI).
  • Results indicated a relationship between severity of ocular and body pain in FM patients and SD-OCT measurements, although the use of pregabalin did not appear to influence these ocular characteristics.
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Background: Delayed radiation-induced motor neuron syndrome (DRIMNS) is an atypical motor neuron disorder that develops months or years after radiation therapy. In this study we present a case of DRIMNS that developed forty years after radiotherapy and to discuss differential diagnoses.

Case Presentation: A 56-year-old male patient was admitted to our clinic with complaints of increasing difficulty in walking for the past year.

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Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effects of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines administered in Türkiye on disease activity and the side effects in the patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease (IRD).

Patients And Methods: Between September 2021 and February 2022, a total of 536 patients with IRD (225 males, 311 females; mean age: 50.5±12.

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Local glucocorticoid injections are used in the treatment of isolated sacroiliitis in patients with spondyloarthritis. Sacroiliac joint injections can be performed intraarticularly or periarticularly. Since the accuracy of blind injections is low, fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or ultrasonography guidance are used to increase the accuracy of sacroiliac joint injections.

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The most common entrapment neuropathy is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), which is caused by compression of the median nerve as it travels through the carpal tunnel in the wrist. Nerve conduction studies (NCS) and ultrasound were used to diagnose CTS but neither method is 100% accurate. The benefit of perineural dextrose injection has been supported in the literature.

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Ultrasound (US)-guided suprascapular nerve block (SSNB) is a widely used procedure and while describing the US-guided SSNB in the suprascapular notch, the suprascapular fossa is often visualized and injection is performed in that location. Although it can be done in both location, to inject the right area, the terminology should be settled and the visualization of these areas which are unclear and confusing in the literature should be clarified. In this sense, we showed the course of the nerve on a cadaver and briefly describe a protocol to correctly visualize the suprascapular notch with US.

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Pectoralis minor syndrome.

Turk J Phys Med Rehabil

December 2022

Pectoralis minor syndrome (PMS) is defined as compression of the brachial plexus (BP) nerves, axillary artery, and axillary vein under the pectoralis minor muscle. The symptoms of PMS resemble supraclavicular compression of the neurovascular bundle, with shoulder, neck, chest, and arm pain, and paresthesia and weakness in the arm and hand. The diagnosis of PMS can be confused with other upper extremity pain syndromes.

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Introduction: Variations in osseous, neural and muscular anatomical structures in the gluteal region have been investigated for their role in causing deep gluteal pain syndromes including piriformis syndrome. This study aimed to radiologically determine whether the femoral neck-shaft angle (NSA) in piriformis syndrome differs from that in a healthy population.

Methods: Two groups of participants comprising 23 piriformis syndrome patients and 22 healthy controls were included in the present study.

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Objective: The aim of this article is to present examples of patients in whom piriformis muscle (PM) and sciatic nerve (SN) variations were detected by a diagnostic ultrasound (US)-guided examination and were successfully diagnosed and treated for piriformis syndrome (PS) by US-guided injections.

Clinical Features: This series includes 4 cases. In case 1, a 30-year-old woman with a 7 numeric rating scale (NRS) score for pain (on a 0-10 scale) was evaluated for complaints of left gluteal pain radiating to the thigh for 5 years and right gluteal pain for 2 years.

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The aim of the study is to investigate the assumption whether lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) and spina bifida occulta (SBO) cause lumbar disc herniation (LDH), intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), and vertebral endplate changes / Modic changes (MCs) in children and adolescents with low back pain (LBP). Four hundred patients (aged 10-17) with LBP persisting for at least six weeks were included in the study. Lumbosacral X-rays were examined for the presence of LSTV and SBO.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluates stroke rehabilitation facilities in university hospitals and training hospitals in Turkey, identifying geographical disparities in patient access and treatment.
  • During the analysis of 1,529 stroke patients, data on demographics, treatment periods, and functional statuses were collected to assess rehabilitation effectiveness.
  • Findings revealed that most patients treated in training hospitals were from regions with fewer local patients, and the study emphasizes the need for standardized evaluation methods to improve rehabilitation outcomes.
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Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of spasticity on glucose metabolism and percentage of fat-free mass (FFM%) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Patients And Methods: A total of 33 patients (22 males, 11 females; mean age: 38.6±12.

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  • The study investigates the connection between 25-OH vitamin D levels, various inflammatory markers, and the severity of COVID-19.
  • Researchers divided patients into three groups based on the severity of their COVID-19 symptoms and measured their vitamin D levels and inflammatory parameters.
  • Results indicated no significant differences in vitamin D levels across groups, but higher inflammatory markers were found in severe cases, with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) identified as a key independent predictor of disease severity.
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  • * Sixty-six patients were randomly assigned to one of the two medications, and their progress was measured using various scales over a period of 12 weeks.
  • * Results showed improvements in pain and functional scores for both medications after 4 weeks, with some enhancements in mental health and sleep quality observed at different intervals, suggesting that these medications can effectively help manage osteoarthritis symptoms.
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Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate the medical treatment attitudes of patients with spondylarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were using biological drugs during the novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Patients And Methods: In this multi-center, cross-sectional study, a total of 277 patients (178 males, 99 females; median age: 45 years; range, 20 to 77 years) who were using biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) for rheumatic diseases and were reached by phone between June 1st, 2020 and June 30th, 2020 were included. Demographic characteristics, working status, type of the rheumatic disease, comorbidities, smoking habits, and type of the bDMARDs were recorded.

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Objective: The purpose of the study is to explore the rehabilitation status of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and anxiety level of their caregivers during the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods: Caregivers of children with CP who were being followed up in our outpatient CP clinic were contacted between May 28 and June 26, 2020. Two hundred and six caregivers who voluntarily agreed to participate were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and were questioned about the rehabilitation status of their children.

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  • Thoracic outlet syndrome involves pain, tingling, weakness, and vascular symptoms due to compression of nerves and blood vessels in specific areas of the thoracic outlet.
  • The main compression sites are the retropectoralis minor space, costoclavicular space, and interscalene triangle, which can make it hard to identify the exact location and appropriate treatment.
  • A case study of a 49-year-old woman shows she was initially diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome but found to have pectoralis minor syndrome, allowing her to be treated effectively with conservative methods instead of surgery.
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Pregabalin is commonly used for the treatment of neuropathic pain and is attributed to adverse effects of peripheral vasodilation and peripheral edema. Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is characterized by choroidal fluid leaks from choroidal vessels under the retina, causing focal retinal detachment with macular vision loss. Herein, we report two cases admitted to our clinic with vision loss while under pregabalin treatment.

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