Ahmet Akyol

Bio: Ahmet Akyol is an academic researcher from University of Gaziantep. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Vitamin D and neurology. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 17 publications receiving 44 citations.

Reactive arthritis after COVID-19: a case-based review.

Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, which is deeply affecting the whole world. In this new case for the scientific world, scientists are investigating the etiopathogenesis of viral infection-induced damage and have started to focus on the short and long-term immune system effects and alterations after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The case is here reported of a 53-year-old female patient with acute monoarthritis after SARS-CoV-2 infection, who responded adequately to 150 mg/day diclofenac treatment, and the available case reports are comprehensively reviewed. With the focus on arthritis after SARS-CoV2 infection, which emerges as a new pathological condition associated with COVID-19, it was aimed to examine the possible immunological mechanisms of post-COVID-19 arthritis based on the current data on SARS-CoV-2 and the known pathogenetic background of viral arthritis.

Bibliometric and Altmetric Analyses of Publication Activity in the Field of Behcet's Disease in 2010-2019.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis accompanied by oral-genital ulcers, ocular, cerebral, and gastrointestinal disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate BD articles published between 2010-2019 bibliometrically and to provide up-to-date data. A secondary aim was to present a different perspective using altmetric assessments. METHODS This bibliometric and altmetric research was performed with data obtained from the Web of Science database. The key terms "Behcet's disease," "Behcet's syndrome," and "Behcet" were used for listing the articles. The number of articles, citation data, and active countries were determined. Trend and correlation analyses were performed. Altmetric attention scores (AASs) and Mendeley readers count (MRC) of the articles were acquired for the altmetric evaluations. RESULTS A total of 5,201 articles were listed. After the exclusion criteria, a total of 2,163 articles were obtained for further analysis. A significant and increasing trend was detected in the number of articles from 2010 to 2019 (P < 0.001). Turkey (28.24%), China (9.57%), South Korea (9.20%), Japan (6.38%), and Italy (5.64%) were the five most productive countries. France, the United States and, the United Kingdom were the top three countries in respect of the average number of citations per article. A weak significant correlation was detected between the number of citations and AAS (P < 0.001). The number of citations was significantly and strongly correlated with the MRC (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION An increasing trend was found in BD research productivity. Although the Silk Road countries were prominent in the number of articles, a similar ranking was not valid for the average number of citations per article.

Publication activity in the field of Sjögren’s syndrome: a ten-year Web of Science based analysis

Abstract: Bibliometric analysis is widely utilized to evaluate global research productivity in different research topics. However, to date, there has been no assessment of worldwide research productivity associated with Sjogren’s syndrome. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the global research productivity in the field of Sjogren's syndrome using bibliometric analysis. The Web of Science database was scanned with the search terms ‘Sjogren’s syndrome’ and ‘Sjogren syndrome’ for publications in the period 2010–2019. Original articles and reviews were selected for analysis. The most active countries were determined, and the number of articles, citations, research productivity adjusted by population and gross domestic product were analyzed. A total of 3856 articles were identified from 65 different countries. A statistically significant trend was observed in the direction of increase (in terms of the number of articles; from 282 to 461) in the 10-year period. A total of 3004 (77.90%) articles were from high-income countries. The five most productive countries were the United States (n = 714, 18.51%), China (n = 428, 11.09%), Japan (n = 308, 7.98%), Italy (n = 299, 7.75%) and France (n = 249, 6.45%). When the number of articles was adjusted according to population, Norway was the most productive country, followed by Greece and the Netherlands. In analysis according to gross domestic product, Greece was the leading country, followed by Norway and the Netherlands. The results of this study demonstrated a remarkable growth in global research productivity on Sjogren’s syndrome between 2010 and 2019. More than three quarters of the articles were from high-income countries. When population and gross domestic product were considered, relatively small European countries came to the fore.

Comparison of education and balneotherapy efficacy in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome: A randomized, controlled clinical study.

Abstract: Objectives Fibromyalgia is a disease characterized by chronic, widespread pain. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment methods are used. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of balneotherapy on treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome, compared with education alone. Methods A total of 66 patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome were randomly separated into balneotherapy and control groups. Patients in both groups were informed about fibromyalgia syndrome. In addition, the balneotherapy group received 21 sessions of spa treatment with 34.8 °C thermomineral water, attending the spa 5 days a week. Patients were evaluated by visual analogue scale, tender point count, fibromyalgia impact questioning, and modified fatigue impact scale at initiation of treatment on the 15th day, 1st month, 3rd month, and 6th month. Evaluations were performed by the same doctor. Results Statistically significant improvement was detected in all parameters, compared to starting evaluation, in both groups. Most improved results among all parameters were observed in the balneotherapy group on the first 3-month follow-up. In addition, all parameters beyond tender point count and modified fatigue impact were improved on 6-month follow-up. Conclusion It was concluded that addition of balneotherapy to patient education has both short- and long-term beneficial effects on female patients with fibromyalgia.

Ankylosing spondylitis rehabilitation publications and the global productivity: a Web of Science-based bibliometric analysis (2000–2019)

Abstract: Rehabilitation programs have an important place in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), but there is no comprehensive bibliometric research that assesses publications on AS rehabilitation in a holistic way. The aim of this study was to investigate the quantity and quality of articles related to AS rehabilitation and to reveal the features of global productivity in this topic. This bibliometric study was conducted utilizing the Web of Science (WoS) database with the keywords ‘ankylosing spondylitis rehabilitation’, ‘ankylosing spondylitis exercise’, ‘ankylosing spondylitis physical therapy’ and ‘ankylosing spondylitis physiotherapy’. The number of articles, citations, and main active countries were determined and trend analyses were performed. A total of 792 articles were reviewed. The articles originated from 51 different countries, 22 of which met the main active country criteria. A significant increase trend was detected in the number of articles between 2000 and 2019 (p < 0.001). The five most productive countries were Germany (n = 111; 14.02%), Turkey (n = 98; 12.37%), the United States (n = 71; 8.96%), the United Kingdom (n = 53; 6.69%) and the Netherlands (n = 53; 6.69%). The highest values in number of articles per million population were calculated in Norway, the Netherlands and Austria, respectively. In the analysis according to GDP, Norway, the Netherlands and Turkey were ranked as the first three. The top three countries for the average citation count were France, Netherlands and Germany. This bibliometric study can be considered as an assessment and summary of worldwide scientific production on AS rehabilitation. The data demonstrate an increasing trend in research productivity since 2000. European countries were seen to be at the forefront both quantitatively and qualitatively in this area.

Effect of Calcium Supplements on Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Events: Meta-analysis

Abstract: Objective To investigate whether calcium supplements increase the risk of cardiovascular events. Design Patient level and trial level meta-analyses. Data sources Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1966-March 2010), reference lists of meta-analyses of calcium supplements, and two clinical trial registries. Initial searches were carried out in November 2007, with electronic database searches repeated in March 2010. Study selection Eligible studies were randomised, placebo controlled trials of calcium supplements (≥500 mg/day), with 100 or more participants of mean age more than 40 years and study duration more than one year. The lead authors of eligible trials supplied data. Cardiovascular outcomes were obtained from self reports, hospital admissions, and death certificates. Results 15 trials were eligible for inclusion, five with patient level data (8151 participants, median follow-up 3.6 years, interquartile range 2.7-4.3 years) and 11 with trial level data (11 921 participants, mean duration 4.0 years). In the five studies contributing patient level data, 143 people allocated to calcium had a myocardial infarction compared with 111 allocated to placebo (hazard ratio 1.31, 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 1.67, P=0.035). Non-significant increases occurred in the incidence of stroke (1.20, 0.96 to 1.50, P=0.11), the composite end point of myocardial infarction, stroke, or sudden death (1.18, 1.00 to 1.39, P=0.057), and death (1.09, 0.96 to 1.23, P=0.18). The meta-analysis of trial level data showed similar results: 296 people had a myocardial infarction (166 allocated to calcium, 130 to placebo), with an increased incidence of myocardial infarction in those allocated to calcium (pooled relative risk 1.27, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 1.59, P=0.038). Conclusions Calcium supplements (without coadministered vitamin D) are associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction. As calcium supplements are widely used these modest increases in risk of cardiovascular disease might translate into a large burden of disease in the population. A reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in the management of osteoporosis is warranted.

The effectiveness of hydrotherapy in the management of fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review.

Abstract: Hydrotherapy is often used in the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), however there has been limited evaluation of its effectiveness. The aim of this systematic review was therefore to examine the effectiveness of hydrotherapy in the management of FMS. AMED, BNI, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PubMed, Science Direct and Web of Science were searched (1990-July 2006). Key words used 'fibromyalgia' and 'hydrotherapy', 'balneotherapy', 'aqua therapy', 'pool therapy', 'water therapy', 'swimming', 'hydrogalvanic', 'spa therapy', 'physiotherapy', 'physical therapy' and 'rehabilitation'. Searches were supplemented with hand searches of selected journals. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were assessed for methodological quality using the van Tulder scale. Ten RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Mean methodological quality was 4.5/9 on the van Tulder scale. Positive outcomes were reported for pain, health-status and tender point count. There is strong evidence for the use of hydrotherapy in the management of FMS.

Is balneotherapy effective for fibromyalgia? Results from a 6-month double-blind randomized clinical trial.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of balneotherapy (BT) in patients with primary fibromyalgia syndrome (FS). In a prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind trial with a 6-month follow-up, 100 FS patients were randomized to receive a cycle of BT with highly mineralized sulfate water (BT group) or with tap water (control group). Clinical assessments were performed at screening visit, at basal time, and after treatment (2 weeks, 3 and 6 months). The primary outcome measures were the change of global pain on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire total score (FIQ-Total) from baseline to 15 days. Secondary outcomes included Widespread Pain Index, Symptom Severity Scale Score, Short Form Health Survey, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. We performed an intent-to-treat analysis. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to verify the normality distribution of all quantitative variables and the Student’s t test to compare sample data. In the BT group, we observed a significant improvement of VAS and FIQ-Total at the end of the treatment that persisted until 6 months, while no significant differences were found in the control group. The differences between groups were significant for primary parameters at each time point. Similar results were obtained for the other secondary outcomes except for the STAI outcome. Adverse events were reported by 10 patients in the BT group and by 22 patients in the control group. Our results support the short- and long-term therapeutic efficacy of BT in FS. Trial registration: NCT02548065

Spa therapy (balneotherapy) relieves mental stress, sleep disorder, and general health problems in sub-healthy people

Abstract: To investigate the relieving effects of hot spring balneotherapy on mental stress, sleep disorder, general health problems, and women’s health problems in sub-healthy people, we recruited 500 volunteers in sub-health in Chongqing, and 362 volunteers completed the project, including 223 in the intervention group and 139 in the control group. The intervention group underwent hot spring balneotherapy for 5 months, while the control group did not. The two groups took questionnaire investigation (general data, mental stress, emotional status, sleep quality, general health problems, as well as some women’s health problems) and physical examination (height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood lipid, blood sugar) 5 months before and after the intervention, respectively. After intervention, sleep disorder (difficulty in falling asleep (P = 0.017); dreaminess, nightmare suffering, and restless sleep (P = 0.013); easy awakening (P = 0.003) and difficulty in falling into sleep again after awakening(P = 0.016); and mental stress (P = 0.031) and problems of general health (head pain (P = 0.026), joint pain(P = 0.009), leg or foot cramps (P = 0.001), blurred vision (P = 0.009)) were relieved significantly in the intervention group, as compared with the control group. While other indicators (fatigue, eye tiredness, limb numbness, constipation, skin allergy) and women’s health problems (breast distending pain; dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation) were relieved significantly in the self-comparison of the intervention group before and after intervention (P 0.05). All indications (except bad mood, low mood, and worry or irritability) in the intervention group significantly improved, with effect size from 0.096 to 1.302. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the frequency, length, and location of balneotherapy in the intervention group were the factors influencing emotion, sleep, and health condition (P 0.05). Spa therapy (balneotherapy) relieves mental stress, sleep disorder, general health, and reduces women’s waist circumferences in sub-healthy people.