International journal of rheumatic diseases
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Assessment of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy with Serum YKL-40 and ultrasonography in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
The use of biomarkers of osteoarthritis (OA) have potential for early diagnosis, evaluation of disease severity and monitoring treatment. Serum and synovial fluid YKL-40 levels are increased in severe knee OA. Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy is a novel treatment method for OA. However, studies evaluating the PEMF therapy in treatment of knee OA revealed conflicting results. This study was conducted to objectively assess the effect of PEMF therapy in patients with knee OA, by using ultrasonographic measurements and a novel biomarker, YKL-40. ⋯ This study revealed that adjuvant PEMF therapy has no additional effect on pain in patients with knee OA. Serum YKL-40 level seems to be unuseful for monitoring the treatment in knee OA.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of vitamin D on nonspecific low back pain.
Nonspecific low back pain is known as one of the most common reasons for chronic low back pain (CLBP) that burdens healthcare systems with high costs. According to a hypothesis, CLBP has been associated with vitamin D3 deficiency, the goal of this study is to evaluate the effect of vitamin D3 administration on improvements in CLBP. ⋯ According to our results, both vitamin D(3) and placebo treatments improved CLBP and there was no significant difference between vitamin D(3) and placebo groups.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
An allopurinol-controlled, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel between-group, comparative study of febuxostat in Chinese patients with gout and hyperuricemia.
Febuxostat, a novel non-purine selective inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, has been identified as a potential alternative to allopurinol in patients with hyperuricemia. The purpose of this study was to compare the urate-lowering (UL) efficacy and safety of daily febuxostat and allopurinol in Chinese gout patients with hyperuricemia. ⋯ The UL efficacy of daily febuxostat 80 mg was greater than that of febuxostat 40 mg and allopurinol 300 mg, which exhibited comparable UL efficacy. Safety of febuxostat and allopurinol was comparable at the doses tested.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Treatment of low back pain: randomized clinical trial comparing a multidisciplinary group-based rehabilitation program with oral drug treatment up to 12 months.
This study aimed to examine the effects of a multidisciplinary treatment program on health-related quality of life of Iranian patients living with chronic low back, at 12 months follow-up. ⋯ This study indicates that the multidisciplinary program could improve the domains of health related quality of life and disability in chronic low back pain patients up to 12 months.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Superiority of laterally elevated wedged insoles to neutrally wedged insoles in medial knee osteoarthritis symptom relief.
Knee osteoarthritis (OA), is the most common degenerative joint disease. Several non-pharmacological interventions have been used for this purpose such as insoles. There are contradictory data about the superiority and effectiveness of laterally wedged compared with neutrally wedged insoles. This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of laterally and neutrally wedged insoles in management of knee OA. ⋯ This study suggests that laterally elevated wedged insoles are more effective than neutrally wedged insoles, in pain relief of knee OA.