Laser Therapy for Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Dr. Merve Benli91 enrolled

Overview

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, autoimmune disease that has detrimental effects on connective tissue and other organs. The musculoskeletal system is one of the most affected systems in this group of patients including the temporomandibular joint. The most common symptoms when muscle involvement in SLE are muscle atrophy decreased muscle strength and myopathy. SLE activity and long-term corticosteroid use are thought to be responsible for these symptoms, thus, SLE patients are accepted to be at higher risk for temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). Low-level laser therapy(LLLT) is frequently used in the treatment of TMD due to its pain relief and anti-inflammatory effect. Thus, in this study, LLLT has been used to evaluate this treatment modality on the chewing function and pain values of SLE patients with myogenic TMD.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Muscle Pain Chewing Function

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Having myogenic temporomandibular joint disorder, * Following a stable medical regime, * Showing minimum pain intensity of 50 mm on the visual analog scale. Exclusion Criteria: * Having concurrent systemic diseases, * Using antimalarial drugs, * Wearing removable prosthesis, * History of facial trauma.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

pain value

Pain intensity was evaluated by using Visual Analog Scale(VAS).

Time frame: 2 months

chewing function

The chewing function was evaluated by measuring the geometric mean diameter of crushed test food.