THE EFFICACY OF LOCAL STEROID INJECTIONS IN IDIOPATHIC CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME: A DOUBLE-BLIND STUDY

In order to investigate the superiority of local steroid injectionover the intramuscular route, 37 patients with idiopathic carpaltunnel syndrome were treated with local or systemic steroidinjections in a double-blind study. The first group receivedsteroid injections into the carpal tunnel of the more severelyaffected hand and placebo into the deltoid muscle of the sameside. The second group received steroid injections intramuscularly,and placebo into the carpal tunnel. The only significant improvementobserved at the end of one month was in the steroid-injectedhands of the first group. At 10–12 months follow-up onlyfour (22%) of the 18 patients from this Group were symptom free. KEY WORDS: Carpal tunnel syndrome, local steroid injection     

Multi-institutional analysis of cervical esophageal carcinoma patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy: TROD 01-005 study

The aim of this study was to examine the prognostic factors and treatment outcomes of cervical esophageal carcinoma (CEC) patients who underwent definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT). The clinical data of 175 biopsy-confirmed CEC patients treated with definitive CRT between April 2005 and September 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The prognostic factors predicting overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) were assessed in uni- and multivariable analyses. The median age of the entire cohort was 56 years (range: 26–87 years). All patients received definitive radiotherapy with a median total dose of 60 Gy, and 52% of the patients received cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy. The 2-year OS, PFS, and LRFS rates were 58.8%, 46.9%, and 52.4%, respectively, with a median follow-up duration of 41.6 months. Patients’ performance status, clinical nodal stage, tumor size, and treatment response were significant prognostic factors for OS, PFS, and LRFS in univariate analysis. Non-complete treatment response was an independent predictor for poor OS (HR = 4.41, 95% CI, 2.78–7.00, p < 0.001) and PFS (HR = 4.28, 95% CI, 2.79–6.58, p < 0.001), whereas poor performance score was a predictor for worse LRFS (HR = 1.83, 95% CI, 1.12–2.98, p = 0.02) in multivariable analysis. Fifty-two patients (29.7%) experienced grade II or higher toxicity. In this multicenter study, we demonstrated that definitive CRT is a safe and effective treatment for patients with CEC. Higher radiation doses were found to have no effect on treatment outcomes, but a better response to treatment and a better patient performance status did.     

A STUDY OF SERUM BIOCHEMISTRY IN BEHcET'S SYNDROME

Serum samples from 57 Turkish patients with Behçet'ssyndrome (BS) were analysed for C-reactive protein, histidine.total sulphydryl concentration and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase.Clinical subgroups did not exhibit biochemical differences,including BS with and without arthritis. When compared withnormal controls and with patients with active rheumatoid arthritis(RA), those with BS were shown to be biochemically abnormalin a manner quantitatively similar to RA, but to a lesser degree.Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase concentrations were found to benormal in BS. KEY WORDS: Behçet's syndrome, Biochemistry     

MONOCYTE ACTIVITY IN BEHCET'S DISEASE

Monocytes obtained from patients with Behçet's disease(BD) were examined for differentiation markers (expression ofCD14 and antigens reacting with monoclonal antibodies 25F9 andG16/1) and for expression of selected adhesion molecules. Therewas significantly raised expression of the CD14 molecule, andincreased staining with 25F9 and G16/1 antibodies in monocytesobtained from patients with BD. A monocyte activation marker,soluble CD 14, was also found to be raised in patients' serumcompared with normal serum (8.1 ± 9.2 vs 1.4 ±0.7 µg/ml). Furthermore, BD patients' monocyte culturesupernatants caused significantly increased adhesion of normalneutrophils to endothelial cell monolayers in vitro. All thesefindings show that BD patients' monocytes are active in vivoand produce a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines which mayplay a role in the chronic inflammation found in these patients. KEY WORDS: Monocyte, Behçet's disease, Adhesion molecules     

DIFFUSE PROLIFERATIVE GLOMERULONEPHRITIS IN BEHCET's SYNDROME

Renal involvement in Behçet's syndrome is infrequentand the reported cases of glomerulonephritis consisted mainlyof patients with focal glomerulonephritis. A patient with Behçet'ssyndrome and diffuse proliferative sclerosing glomerulonephritiswith predominant disposition of IgM is described. KEY WORDS: Behçet's syndrome, Renal disease, Glomerulonephritis