US therapy is safe but use of US in addition to conventional physical therapy programs seems to have no further significant effect in people with knee OA.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a slow, chronic disease characterized by the focal deterioration and abrasion of articular cartilage. Leptin may play an important role in the pathophysiology of OA. Exercise and glucosamine sulfate therapy is one of the most commonly used in patients with knee OA. The goals of the present study are performed to investigate whether 12-week strength training program and glucosamine sulfate have an effect on serum leptin levels in knee OA and the relationship between leptin, clinical parameters, and radiographic severity of knee OA. Thirty-seven women with the diagnosis of knee OA were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomized into two groups. Group I (n = 19) received an exercise program, while group II (n = 18) received glucosamine sulfate (1,500 mg/day) in addition to the exercise therapy. Both groups were treated for 12 weeks. Leptin level was assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. The concentration of leptin was measured by ELISA. The patients were evaluated regarding pain, disability, functional performance, and muscle strength. Both groups showed significant improvements in leptin levels, pain, disability, muscle strength, and functional performance with no statistically significant difference between the groups after the therapy. At basal time, plasma leptin levels were significantly correlated with body mass index and duration of disease, but no significant correlation was found with patient age, pain, disability, functional performance, muscle strength, and radiographic severity of knee OA. The results of this preliminary study revealed that exercise alone was adequate to prevent structural changes relieving the symptoms of OA. We also found that exercise alone could affect serum plasma levels of the leptin, important mediators of cartilage metabolism. Decreases in serum leptin may be one mechanism by which cartilage metabolism affects physical function and symptoms in OA patients.

Objective: To assess quality of life (QOL) of patients operated for breast cancer at early periods and to investigate its relationship to pain, handgrip strength (HS), disability, and emotional status. Material and Methods: Ninety-three female patients, operated unilaterally for breast cancer, were included. QOL by Short Form-36 (SF-36), depression by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), shoulder pain intensity (rest-movement) by visual analog scale (VAS), handgrip strength (HS) by handheld dynamometer, and disability by Shoulder Pain-Disability Index (SPDI) and Shoulder Disability Questionnaire (SDQ) were evaluated. Results: The mean age of patients was 47.55±8.79 years, and mean time since surgery was 9.52±5.44 months. Shoulder pain during movementrest was 76.3%-41.9%, and depression of 32.2% was detected. The most affected QOL parameters were found to be general health and functional role. There were negative correlations between SF-36 subgroups scores and pain, SPDI, SDQ, and BDI scores (p<0.05). HS was positively correlated with physical function and physical role (p<0.05). Conclusion: Rehabilitation of patients who undergo breast cancer surgery should be focused on QOL and emotional status. The improvement of shoulder pain, disability, emotional status, and HS may enhance the QOL in these patients at early periods. Key Words: Breast cancer, quality of life, depression, handgrip strength, pain, disability Özet Amaç: Meme kanseri cerrahisi geçiren hastalarda, erken dönem yaşam kalitesini (YK) değerlendirmek, YK'nın omuz ağrısı, el kavrama gücü (el KG), dizabilite ve emosyonel durum ile ilişkisini araştırmak. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışmaya, tek taraflı meme kanseri cerrahisi geçiren 93 kadın hasta dahil edildi. Yaşam kalitesini Kısa Form-36 (KF-36), depresyon düzeyi Beck Depresyon Ölçeği (BDÖ), opere edilen tarafta omuz ağrısı (istirahat, hareket), vizüel analog skala (VAS), el KG el dinamometresi, dizabilite Omuz Ağrı Özürlülük İndeksi (OAÖİ) ve Omuz Özürlülük Sorgulaması (OÖS) ile değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Hastaların yaş ortalaması 47,55±8,79 yıl, operasyon sonrası geçen süre ortalaması 9,52±5,44 ay idi. Hastaların %76,3'ünde hareket, %41,9'unda istirahat sırasında omuz ağrısı, %32,3'ünde ise depresyon tespit edildi. En fazla etkilenen QOL parametresinin, genel sağlık ve fonksiyonel rol olduğu saptandı. KF-36 alt-parametre skorları ile omuz ağrı VAS, OAÖİ, OÖS ve BDÖ skorları arasında negatif korelasyon vardı (p<0,05). El KG ile fiziksel fonksiyon ve fiziksel rol pozitif koreleydi (p<0,05). Sonuç: Meme kanseri cerrahisi geçiren hastaların rehabilitasyonu, YK ve emosyonel durum odaklı olmalıdır. Omuz ağrısı, dizabilite, emosyonel durum ve el KG'nin iyileştirilmesi bu hastalarda YK'yı arttırabilir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Meme kanseri, yaşam kalitesi, depresyon, el kavrama gücü, ağrı, dizabilite