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Abstract: Aim: Colchicine prophylaxis is the single most important factor in ameliorating familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) for the prevention of both attacks and secondary amyloidosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the exact proportion of those patients who do not respond to colchicine and to characterize their demographic, sociodemographic and clinical aspects. Methods: One hundred and eight patients with FMF were included in our study. The demographic (age, gender), socioeconomic (education level, employment status, economic income level) and clinical features (age at onset of FMF, age at FMF diagnosis, family history of FMF, mean duration of colchicine use and mean daily colchicine dose) of the patients were evaluated. The patients unresponsive to colchicine therapy, according to their statements, were recorded. Also with another question, patients’ routine colchicine‐consuming habits were elucidated in a self‐answering format. ‘Non‐responders’ were defined as patients who experienced FMF attacks at a frequency greater than once every 3 months despite treatment with 2 mg colchicine daily. Data were analyzed with the chi‐square test and Fisher's exact test. Results: There were 50 female and 58 male patients with a mean age of 42.4 ± 11.3 years. The mean age at FMF onset and at FMF diagnosis were 14.3 ± 10.5 and 19.1 ± 12.9 years, respectively. Sixteen percent of the patients defined themselves as ‘suffering from attacks in spite of regular colchicine’. Irregular colchicine usage was determined in 11% of the patients who were considered as ‘unresponsive to colchicine therapy’ according to their statements. In spite of regular colchicine regimen, attacks were present in 5% of the patients in our study. Although there was no difference in demographic and clinical aspects, patients with irregular colchicine usage were found to be from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, had less education and more unemployment (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Regular colchicine usage anamnesis may be misleading in the first evaluation and this risk seems to be higher in patients from lower socioeconomic background. Routine colchicine‐consuming habits should be detailed in patients with FMF before claiming its failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Physiotherapy is an integral part of the management of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and there is a need for recommendations which focus on the rehabilitation of patients with AS. We aimed to develop recommendations for the physical therapy and rehabilitation of patients with AS based on the evidence and expertise. Methods: The Anatolian Group for the Assessment in Rheumatic Diseases (ANGARD) is a scientific group of Turkish academicians (physiatrists and rheumatologists) who are experts in the rehabilitation of patients with AS. A systematic literature search summarizing the current available physiotherapy and rehabilitation trials in AS were presented to the experts before a special 2-day meeting. Experts attending this meeting first defined a framework based on the main principles and thereafter collectively constructed six major recommendations on physiotherapy and rehabilitation in AS. After the meeting an email survey was conducted to rate the strength of the recommendations. Results: Six key recommendations which cover the general principles of rehabilitation in AS in terms of early intervention, initial and follow-up assessments and monitoring, contraindications and precautions, key advice for physiotherapy methods and exercise were constructed. Conclusion: These recommendations were developed using evidence-based data and expert opinion. The implementation of these recommendations should encourage a more comprehensive and methodical approach in the rehabilitation of patients with AS. Regular lifelong exercise is the mainstay of rehabilitation and there is a considerable need for well-designed studies which will enlighten the role of physical therapy in the management of AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate discrimination ability of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) endorsed disease activity score (ASDAS) versions evaluating low and high disease activity in an unselected group of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods: Patients consecutively included into the joint database of five university hospitals were analyzed for low or high disease activity according to different criteria. Standardized mean differences (SMD) for two ASDAS versions were evaluated. Results: The ASDAS versions (back pain, morning stiffness, patient global pain, pain/swelling of peripheral joints, plus either erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein) discriminated high and low disease activity in subgroups according to Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (BASDAI) and ASAS remission/partial remission criteria. ASDAS versions were also not influenced by peripheral arthritis and correlated well with other outcome measurements and acute-phase reactants. The ASDAS versions performed better than patient-reported measures or acute-phase reactants discriminating high and low disease activity status. Conclusion: Both ASDAS versions, consisting of both patient-reported data and acute-phase reactants, performed well in discriminating low and high disease activity. Further longitudinal data may better estimate the usefulness of ASDAS to assess disease activity subgroups and treatment response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this, open-label, non-comparative study, was to evaluate the efficacy on quality of life and the efficacy of gabapentin monotherapy in patients with chronic radiculopathy. Methods: Thirty-five patients with radicular pain and diagnosed as L_{4}, L_{5} or S_1 radiculopathy were treated with oral gabapentin from a total of 300 mg per day once up to a total of 1800 mg per day divided in 3 doses for eight-week trial period. Quality of life, functional disability and psychological mood of the patients were assessed using the Nottingham Healthy Profile (NHP), Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (ODQ) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results: Of the patients (n = 35), 25 were females and 10 were males (mean age: 41.8 ± 10.4, range: 24–60 years); mean radiculopathy duration was 16.4 ± 14.2 months (range: 3–48 months). The pain intensity at rest, quality of life, functional disability and depression scores were determined significantly improved after treatment and 4 months compared to baseline scores (p < 0.001). 1.5 points compared to baseline for at pain rest and 15 points improvement on the ODQ were obtained. Conclusion: Gabapentin may provide benefits in terms of alleviation of pain and overall quality of life in patients with chronic radiculopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was performed to investigate the relationship between functional disability and depression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Twenty-three patients with RA, twenty-seven patients with AS and thirty-five healthy individuals were included. Morning stiffness duration, patient's pain evaluation, Stanford health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), Beck depression inventory (BDI), serum C reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) levels were evaluated in the RA group. Also, morning stiffness duration, pain levels, Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI), BDI, CRP and ESR levels were measured in the AS group. Significant positive correlations between BDI scores and age, disease duration, pain and HAQ scores were found in the RA group (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.001, respectively). Also, there were similar correlations between BDI scores and disease duration, pain and BASFI scores in the AS group (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.001, respectively). In conclusion, depression is associated with chronic inflammatory disorders such as RA and AS. In addition, the degree of functional disability may play an important role on depression of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Complex regional pain syndrome ( CRPS) type I is one of the most important problems with regard to physical medicine and rehabilitation. CRPS may cause not only higher therapeutic costs but also greater work time loss. The mechanism and pathogenesis of CRPS still remains unknown. Some findings indicating oxidative stress have been reported. This study was carried out to determine the role of oxidative stress in patients with CRPS. Materials and methods Twenty patients (13 women and seven men) with CRPS and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Complex regional pain syndrome was diagnosed according to the modified International Association for the Study of Pain ( IASP) criteria. We evaluated demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of the patients. Antioxidant enzymatic activities consisting of serum superoxide dismutase ( SOD), glutathion peroxidase ( GPX) and glutathione S-transferase ( GST) activities were measured using appropriate methods and compared with healthy controls. Results The mean age of the patients was 39.5 years and the mean duration of symptoms was 5.5 months. Complex regional pain syndrome devoleped after a traumatic event in 90% of patients. In 10% of patients there were no traumatic events. SOD, GPX and GST levels were significantly higher in patients with CRPS than healthy controls ( P = 0.012, P = 0.036 and P = 0.016, respectively). Conclusion Our findings suggest a possible role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of CRPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]