AimLately, the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging, Lasègue sign and classic neurological signs have been considered not accurate enough to distinguish the radicular from non-radicular low back with leg pain (LBLP) and a calculation of the symptomatic side muscle volume has been indicated as a probable valuable marker. However, only the multifidus muscle volume has been calculated so far. The main objective of the study was to verify whether LBLP subjects presented symptomatic side pelvic muscle atrophy compared to healthy volunteers. The second aim was to assess the inter-rater reliability of 3-D manual method for segmenting and measuring the volume of the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus and piriformis muscles in both LBLP patients and healthy subjects.MethodTwo independent raters analyzed MR images of LBLP and healthy subjects towards muscle volume of four pelvic muscles, i.e. the piriformis, gluteus minimus, gluteus medius and gluteus maximus. For both sides, the MR images of the muscles without adipose tissue infiltration were manually segmented in 3-D medical images.ResultsSymptomatic muscle atrophy was confirmed in only over 50% of LBLP subjects (gluteus maximus (p<0.001), gluteus minimus (p<0.01) and piriformis (p<0.05)). The ICC values indicated that the inter-rater reproducibility was greater than 0.90 for all measurements (LBLP and healthy subjects), except for the measurement of the right gluteus medius muscle in LBLP patients, which was equal to 0.848.ConclusionMore than 50% of LBLP subjects presented symptomatic gluteus maximus, gluteus minimus and piriformis muscle atrophy. 3-D manual segmentation reliably measured muscle volume in all the measured pelvic muscles in both healthy and LBLP subjects. To answer the question of what kind of muscle atrophy is indicative of radicular or non-radicular pain further studies are required.
Introduction. Caregivers of demented relatives devote their time and attention in order to help the beloved members of the family. Those who are informal caregivers require support in order to avoid being overburdened. Many such caregivers may suffer from chronic health problems, for instance, depression. Objective. The aim was to assess the factors of depression in caregivers, and to discover the determinants of depression among informal family caregivers of demented individuals. Materials and method. Forty-one caregivers in the research group were administered a questionnaire which included the caregivers' demographics. Caregiver's level of depression was measured by the scale of the Centre for Epidemiology Scale for Depression. The relationship between depression and demographic features was analyzed. Data were analyzed using STATISTICA 8.1 (StatSoft). Analysis of the results was performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test of normality. Pearson correlation coefficient was also used. Results. Referring to The Centre for Epidemiology Scale for Depression, the average score in the study group was 18 ± 7.49. There was no statistically significant relationship between the level of depression and such factors as caregiver's age, time of care of demented relative, and type of kinship and pain. Conclusions. Although there was no relationship between the level of depression and demographic features, the problem with quality of life, worries and grief which may appear, seemed to be sufficient reason for organizing the prevention of depression for all informal caregivers of persons with dementia.
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