Aims and ScopeEurasian Journal of Medicine (Eurasian J Med) is an international, scientific, open access periodical published by independent, unbiased, and tripleblinded peer-review principles. The journal is the official publication of

Objective: The present cross-sectional study aimed to investigate possible association between Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Apical Periodontitis (AP). Methods: In table one it is mentioned 48 patients diagnosed with RA were included in the experimental group. Another 48 healthy age- and gender-matched participants who reported no history of any systemic disease were selected to form the control group. All the patients were examined radiographically and clinically to diagnose the presence of AP. The following data was recorded for all patients; the number of teeth present, the number of teeth with AP, the number of patients with AP, the number of patients with root canal treated teeth (RCT) and the number of patients with RCT+AP. The chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were used to determine the possible association between RA and AP. Results: A total of 1026 teeth were examined in the RA group and 45 of them was diagnosed as AP. In the control group, 1025 teeth were examined and 21 teeth were diagnosed as AP. It was found that the prevalence of teeth with AP (4.3%) was significantly higher in the RA group than the control (2%) (odds ratio [OR]=2.193, P=0.003). Logistic regression analysis showed that RA is significantly associated with AP. Conclusion: It can be concluded that patients with RA can be more prone to develop AP.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the relationships between serum endocan, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels in active Behçet disease. Patients and methods: Forty patients with active Behçet disease (24 males, 16 females; mean age 37.6±8.7 years; range 20 to 50 years) and 40 healthy controls (22 males, 18 females; mean age 38.8±7.9 years; range 21 to 52 years) were included in this study. Both patient and control groups underwent a complete systemic and ophthalmic examination by the same specialist. Endocan, VEGF, and TNF-α levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit in all subjects. Results: Serum endocan levels were 775.2±479.3 ng/mL and 275.8±145.8 ng/mL in the patient and control groups, respectively. VEGF levels were 1768.2±900.5 pg/mL and 980.2±135.3 pg/mL in the patient and control groups, respectively. TNF-α levels were 22.4±74.3 pg/mL-1 and 11.4±16.9 pg/mL-1 in the patient and control groups, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between groups in terms of serum endocan, VEGF, and TNF-α levels. There was a significant positive correlation between serum endocan and VEGF levels in the patient group (r=0.630; p<0.001). Also, there was a significant positive correlation between serum endocan and TNF-α levels in the patient group (r=0.713; p<0.001). Conclusion: Serum endocan level may be a new marker in evaluation of both the prognosis and activity of Behçet disease.

Background. There are no studies evaluating the possible association between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and apical periodontitis (AP). Objectives. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the possible association between AS and AP. Material and methods. Fifty patients diagnosed with AS, receiving treatment at the Rheumatology Clinic in Erzurum, Turkey, were included in the experimental group. Another 50 age-and gender-matched individuals without any history of systemic disease were included in the study as the control group. All patients were examined radiographically and clinically to diagnose the presence of AP. The following data was recorded for all patients: the smoking habit, the number of teeth present, the number of teeth with AP, the number of root canal-treated (RCT) teeth, and the number of RCT teeth with AP. Results. There were 1,283 teeth in the AS group and 1,305 in the control group. There was a significant association between teeth with AP and AS, as the prevalence of teeth with AP was significantly lower in the control group (1.3%) than in the AS group (2.9%) (OR (odds ratio) = 2.250; p = 0.005). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the number of RCT teeth and RCT teeth with AP (p > 0.05). Conclusions. Ankylosing spondylitis is significantly associated with an increased prevalence of AP. It can be concluded that patients with AS can be more prone to develop AP. However, AS does not reduce the success rate of endodontic treatment, because there was no significant difference between the AS and control groups in terms of RCT teeth with AP.

No abstract

Introduction:The aim of this study was to determine the fall risk in patients with knee osteoarthritis with an objective computerized technique and to evaluate the potential risk factors for falls in these patients.Materials and Method: Patients with knee osteoarthritis and controls were included in this cross-sectional study. Gender, age, and body mass index were recorded. Pain was evaluated with a visual analog scale. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index was used to assess the patients and the Falls Efficacy Scale International was used for the evaluation of fall efficacy. Knee radiographs were recorded with the Kellgren-Lawrence grading scale. Fall risk analysis was performed by using the Tetrax Interactive Balance System.Results: One hundred patients with knee osteoarthritis and 30 controls were included. The age, gender, and body mass index scores were similar between the groups. Falls Efficacy Scale International scores were significantly higher in the cases than in the controls (p<0.000). Using a computerized system, significantly higher fall risk results (p<0.000) and significantly low, moderate, and high fall risk distribution were recorded in the cases than in the controls (p<0.000). Fall risk was significantly related to age, pain, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores of the patients.Conclusions: Our study demonstrated a higher fall risk in patients with knee osteoarthritis than in healthy individuals. This higher risk was shown even inå the early radiographic phases of the disease related to age, pain, and dysfunction. An understanding of factors on postural control seems to be critical in successful fall prevention in these patients.Keywords: Osteoarthritis, Knee; Accidental falls; Postural balance Giriş: Bu çalışmanın amacı diz osteoartriti olan hastalardaki düşme riskini komputerize bir teknikle değerlendirmek ve bu hastalarda düşme riski için potansiyel risk faktörlerini belirlemektir.Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışmada, diz osteoartritli hastalar ve kontrol vakaları kesitsel olarak değerlendirildi. Katılımcıların cinsiyet, yaş ve beden kütle indeksi değerleri kaydedildi. Ağrı görsel analog skala ile, kısıtlılık "The Western Ontario and Mc Master Universities Osteoarthritis Index" ile, düşme etkisi ise "Falls Efficacy Scale International" ile değerlendirildi. KellgrenLawrence sınıflandırması kullanılarak diz radyografileri değerlendirildi. Düşme riski analizi ise "Tetrax Interactive Balance System" kullanılarak gerçekleştirildi.Bulgular: Diz osteoartritli 100 hasta ve 30 kontrol vakası incelemeye alındı. Yaş, cinsiyet ve beden kütle indeksi değerleri gruplar arasında benzerdi. "Falls Efficacy Scale International" değerleri diz osteoartritli hastalarda kontrol grubundan anlamlı şekilde yüksekti (p<0.000). Kullanılan komputerize sistemle, diz osteoartiti olan hastalarda kontrollere göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı şekilde yüksek düşme riski (p<0.000) ve düşük, orta ve yüksek düşme riski dağılımı kaydedildi (p<0.000). Düşme riski hast...

The aim of this study was to determine the paraoxonase (PON) and arylesterase (ARE) enzyme activity levels in Behcet's disease (BD) and to investigate whether they are associated with the disease activity. Twenty-six patients (study group) with active BD and 28 healthy controls (control group) were included in this study. While the patients who had at least one of the symptoms related to genital ulcer, skin lesions, active uveitis, arthritis, thrombophlebitis, or central nervous system involvement in addition to oral ulcers were considered as the active group, the patients who did not show clinical symptoms in the last one month due to the medical treatment were considered as the inactive group in the clinical evaluation of patients with BD. The PON and ARE levels were found to be significantly lower in the study group than the control group (p < 0.05). The PON levels of the active and inactive groups were 96.23 ± 57.84 and 112.2 ± 65.14, respectively. The ARE levels of the active and inactive groups were 30.49 ± 5.81 and 30.85 ± 6.40, respectively. No significant correlations were found between clinical findings and the activity levels of PON and ARE in the active patient group (p > 0.05). The activities of the antioxidant PON and ARE enzymes are reduced in BD. Therefore, it may be useful to add antioxidant therapy to the conventional treatment of the disease.

Aims and Scope Eurasian Journal of Medicine (Eurasian J Med) is an international, scientific, open access periodical published by independent, unbiased, and triple-blinded peer-review principles. The journal is the official publication of Atatürk University School of Medicine and published triannually in February, June, and October. The publication language of the journal is English. The aim of the Eurasian Journal of Medicine is to publish original research papers of the highest scientific and clinical value in all medical fields. The Eurasian J Med also includes reviews, editorial short notes and letters to the editor that either as a comment related to recently published articles in our journal or as a case report. The target audience of the journal includes researchers, physicians and healthcare professionals who are interested or working in in all medical disciplines.