Background & Aim: Medication adherence affects the outcome of treatment in patients with epilepsy. Non adherence to the antiepileptic drugs in patients may result in exacerbation of seizure frequencies, higher health-care system costs and higher risk of morbidity and mortality . This study aimed to assess the medication adherence and its related factors in patients with epilepsy .

  Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 120 patients with epilepsy from the Iran Epilepsy Association using purposive sampling method. Data were gathered using a demographic checklist and the Morisky’s modified medication adherence questionnaire. Data were analyzed in the SPSS-16 . 

  Results: A total of 87.5%, 10.8% and 1.7% of the patients showed high, medium and low adherences, respectively. Being seizure-free for a period of time was the most cited reason of non-adherence (8.3%). There was a statistically significant relationship between the number of drugs and seizures with the medication adherence (P<0.05). The older people had more adherences to their medications. The patients, who had higher adherences, had experienced fewer seizures in the previous three months .

  Conclusion: The results showed high rates of medication adherences among the patients. Planning and implementing educational programs on medication regimens, emphasizing on necessity of continues use of antiepileptic drugs despite absence of seizures, can be useful in increasing the medication adherence .

Background & Aim: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder that is frequently observed in patients with multiple sclerosis. This study aimed to determine the effect of stretching exercises on the severity of restless legs syndrome symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Methods & Materials: This quasi-experimental study with control group (IRCT2016041627427N1) was conducted on 60 patients with multiple sclerosis (30 in the intervention group and 30 in the control group) referred to the multiple sclerosis society of Kermanshah in 2015. “The demographic questionnaire”, “the symptoms of restless legs syndrome and their severity”, and “exercise recording form” were used to collect the data. The intervention group was taught the correct way to exercise during four half-hour sessions. The severity of RLS symptoms was measured before the intervention and the end of the fourth and eighth weeks. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software version 20.

Results: Before the intervention, the mean score for the severity of RLS symptoms was respectively 19.08±8.12 and 17.42±5.24 in the intervention and control groups (P=0.569). One month (P=0.002) and two months after the intervention (P<0.001), the score was changed to 9.70±5.24 and 7.08±4.08 in the intervention group and 17.61±5.31 and 17.92±5.52 in the control group.

Conclusion: Stretching exercises can improve the severity of RLS symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis. Therefore, the stretching exercises program is recommended for this group of patients.