Clinical Outcomes After Continuous Intracorneal Ring implantation in Post-LASIK Ectasia: (Long-Term Follow-up)

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes after implantation of MyoRing in patients with ectasia secondary to LASIK. Patients and Methods: This study was a retrospective, consecutive, nonrandomized interventional case series. The MyoRing was implanted after creation of a stromal pocket using a PocketMaker microkeratome (Dioptex, GmBH, Linz, Austria) in 6 eyes of 6 patients with ectasia secondary to LASIK. Uncorrected distance visual acuity, corrected distance visual acuity, sphere, cylinder and keratometric changes were reported after a 3 year follow-up period. Results: Uncorrected distance visual acuity and corrected distance visual acuity were improved in 5 and 3 patients respectively. One patient showed decreased UDVA after 3 years and in 3 patients the corrected distance visual acuity decreased at the last visit compared to the preoperative reading. Maximum keratometry, sphere and cylinder were improved from preoperative values in 4, 2 and 5 patients respectively. Conclusion: Because of the mixed results in our small group of patients, it seems that MyoRing implantation using mechanical dissection is not a very effective method for treatment of patients with post LASIK ectasia. However, large comparative multicenter studies are recommended to further verify these results.Keywords: Ectasia, Cornea, LASIK, Corneal ring, Iran

Challenges in the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting in randomized clinical trial studies : A systematic review

This study was funded by Iran University of Medical Sciences (grant number 97-01-27-33259).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Full-ring Intrastromal Corneal Implantation for Correcting High Myopia in Patients with Severe Keratoconus

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the mechanical implantation of a MyoRing in patients with severe keratoconus and high myopia. The study involved 32 eyes of 32 patients (14 men and 18 women; mean age: 29.6 ± 6.7; age range: 20 – 44). The patients underwent MyoRing implantation with mechanical dissection using a Pocket Maker microkeratome, and outcomes were assessedat3 months after surgery. The main outcome measures were uncorrected and corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA and CDVA, both in Logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution [logMAR] units), manifest refraction, and keratometry readings. There was a significant improvement in the UDVA, from 1.14 ± 0.32 to 0.35 ± 0.24 (P Ë‚ 0.001), and in the CDVA, from 0.47 ± 0.20 to 0.22 ± 0.15 (P Ë‚ 0.001). There was also a significant improvement in the spherical equivalent refractive error (-10.51 ± 2.81 D to -1.32 ± 2.29 D) (P Ë‚ 0.001). There was a significant decrease of manifest refraction in the mean sphere and cylinder of 7.70 and 2.6 D, respectively (P < 0.001). Furthermore, with regard to corneal topography, there was a significant reduction of 3.55 D (P Ë‚ 0.001) in the mean keratometry reading. The results show that the mechanical implantation of a MyoRing is effective for the correction of myopia in patients with keratoconus and high myopia.Â

Iranian general populations' and health care providers' preferences for benefits and harms of statin therapy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease

Acknowledgements This study was conducted at the Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran. Lown Scholar Program of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health helped in funding and designing the study. We thank the respectful staff of the Non-Communicable Diseases Office of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Iran for their help and advice on developing the survey. We gratefully thank Prof. MA Puhan for sharing their experience on the design and implementation of best-worst scaling. Funding This study is a part of a project funded by the National Institute of Medical Research. Development (NIMAD) (Grant No. 964114) and was supported by the Iran University of Medical. Sciences. The funding bodies had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Intrastromal Corneal Ring Segment Implantation (Keraring 355°) in Patients with Central Keratoconus: 6-Month Follow-Up

We evaluate the efficacy and safety of Keraring 355° intrastromal corneal ring segment (ICRS) implantation aided by PocketMaker microkeratome for the correction of keratoconus. Patients underwent ICRS insertion using mechanical dissection with PocketMaker microkeratome and completed 6 months of follow-up. Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), refraction, topographic findings, safety, efficacy index, and adverse events were reported for six months postoperatively. We evaluated 15 eyes of 15 patients (12 men) with a mean age of 28.87 ± 6.94 years (range 21–49 years). At final postoperative examination, there was a statistically significant reduction in the spherical equivalent refractive error compared to preoperative measurements (−5.46 ± 1.52 to −2.01 ± 1.63 D, P< 0.001). Mean preoperative UCVA (logMAR) before implantation was 0.79 ± 0.48, and postoperative UCVA was 0.28 ± 0.15, P= 0.001. Mean preoperative BSCVA (logMAR) before implantation was 0.36 ± 0.21; at final follow-up examination BSCVA was 0.18 ± 0.9, P= 0.009. Mean K decreased from 48.33 to 43.31 D, P< 0.001. All patients were satisfied with ICRS implantation; 86.7% were moderately to very happy with the results. No intraoperative or postoperative complications were demonstrated. This preliminary study shows that ICRS (Keraring 355°) implantation is an efficient, cost-effective, and minimally invasive procedure for improving visual acuity in nipple type keratoconic corneas

An assessment of health research impact in Iran

Background: In recent years, Iran has made significant developments in the field of health sciences. However, the question is whether this considerable increase has affected public health. The research budget has always been negligible and unsustainable in developing countries. Hence, using the Payback Framework, we conducted this study to evaluate the impact of health research in Iran. Methods: By using a cross-sectional method and two-stage stratified cluster sampling, the projects were randomly selected from six medical universities. A questionnaire was designed according to the Payback Framework and completed by the principle investigators of the randomly selected projects. Results: The response rate was 70.4%. Ten point twenty-four percent (10.24%) of the studies had been ordered by a knowledge user organization. The average number of articles published in journals per project was 0.96, and half of the studies had no articles published in Scopus. The results of 12% of the studies had been used in systematic review articles and the same proportion had been utilized in clinical or public health guidelines. The results of 5.3% of the studies had been implemented in the Health Ministry’s policymaking. 62% of the studies were expected to affect health directly, 38% of them had been implemented, and among the latter 60% had achieved the expected results. Concerning the economic impacts, the most common expected impact was the reduction of ‘days of work missed because of illness or disability’ and impact on personal and health system costs. About 36% of these studies had been implemented, and 61% had achieved the expected impact. Conclusion: In most aspects, the status of research impact needs improvement. A comparison of Iran’s ranking of knowledge creation and knowledge impact in the Global Innovation Index confirms these findings. The most important problems identified were, not conducting research based on national needs, and the lack of implementation of research results. Keywords: Research impact assessment, Payback, Health research syste

Validity of self-reported substance use : research setting versus primary health care setting

Funding Information: This study has been supported by the Vice Chancellery for Research & Technology of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. The context of this article are the views of the authors and the funder had no role in design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, decision to publish and writing the manuscript. Acknowledgments The Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences provided funding for this study. Also we thank the people who participated in the study.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Safety and immunogenicity of seven COVID-19 vaccines as a third dose (booster) following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BNT162b2 in the UK (COV-BOOST): a blinded, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial

Background Few data exist on the comparative safety and immunogenicity of different COVID-19 vaccines given as a third (booster) dose. To generate data to optimise selection of booster vaccines, we investigated the reactogenicity and immunogenicity of seven different COVID-19 vaccines as a third dose after two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 (Oxford–AstraZeneca; hereafter referred to as ChAd) or BNT162b2 (Pfizer–BioNtech, hearafter referred to as BNT). Methods COV-BOOST is a multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial of third dose booster vaccination against COVID-19. Participants were aged older than 30 years, and were at least 70 days post two doses of ChAd or at least 84 days post two doses of BNT primary COVID-19 immunisation course, with no history of laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. 18 sites were split into three groups (A, B, and C). Within each site group (A, B, or C), participants were randomly assigned to an experimental vaccine or control. Group A received NVX-CoV2373 (Novavax; hereafter referred to as NVX), a half dose of NVX, ChAd, or quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY)control (1:1:1:1). Group B received BNT, VLA2001 (Valneva; hereafter referred to as VLA), a half dose of VLA, Ad26.COV2.S (Janssen; hereafter referred to as Ad26) or MenACWY (1:1:1:1:1). Group C received mRNA1273 (Moderna; hereafter referred to as m1273), CVnCov (CureVac; hereafter referred to as CVn), a half dose of BNT, or MenACWY (1:1:1:1). Participants and all investigatory staff were blinded to treatment allocation. Coprimary outcomes were safety and reactogenicity and immunogenicity of anti-spike IgG measured by ELISA. The primary analysis for immunogenicity was on a modified intention-to-treat basis; safety and reactogenicity were assessed in the intention-to-treat population. Secondary outcomes included assessment of viral neutralisation and cellular responses. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number 73765130. Findings Between June 1 and June 30, 2021, 3498 people were screened. 2878 participants met eligibility criteria and received COVID-19 vaccine or control. The median ages of ChAd/ChAd-primed participants were 53 years (IQR 44–61) in the younger age group and 76 years (73–78) in the older age group. In the BNT/BNT-primed participants, the median ages were 51 years (41–59) in the younger age group and 78 years (75–82) in the older age group. In the ChAd/ChAD-primed group, 676 (46·7%) participants were female and 1380 (95·4%) were White, and in the BNT/BNT-primed group 770 (53·6%) participants were female and 1321 (91·9%) were White. Three vaccines showed overall increased reactogenicity: m1273 after ChAd/ChAd or BNT/BNT; and ChAd and Ad26 after BNT/BNT. For ChAd/ChAd-primed individuals, spike IgG geometric mean ratios (GMRs) between study vaccines and controls ranged from 1·8 (99% CI 1·5–2·3) in the half VLA group to 32·3 (24·8–42·0) in the m1273 group. GMRs for wild-type cellular responses compared with controls ranged from 1·1 (95% CI 0·7–1·6) for ChAd to 3·6 (2·4–5·5) for m1273. For BNT/BNT-primed individuals, spike IgG GMRs ranged from 1·3 (99% CI 1·0–1·5) in the half VLA group to 11·5 (9·4–14·1) in the m1273 group. GMRs for wild-type cellular responses compared with controls ranged from 1·0 (95% CI 0·7–1·6) for half VLA to 4·7 (3·1–7·1) for m1273. The results were similar between those aged 30–69 years and those aged 70 years and older. Fatigue and pain were the most common solicited local and systemic adverse events, experienced more in people aged 30–69 years than those aged 70 years or older. Serious adverse events were uncommon, similar in active vaccine and control groups. In total, there were 24 serious adverse events: five in the control group (two in control group A, three in control group B, and zero in control group C), two in Ad26, five in VLA, one in VLA-half, one in BNT, two in BNT-half, two in ChAd, one in CVn, two in NVX, two in NVX-half, and one in m1273. Interpretation All study vaccines boosted antibody and neutralising responses after ChAd/ChAd initial course and all except one after BNT/BNT, with no safety concerns. Substantial differences in humoral and cellular responses, and vaccine availability will influence policy choices for booster vaccination. Funding UK Vaccine Taskforce and National Institute for Health Research

Protein target highlights in CASP15: Analysis of models by structure providers

We present an in-depth analysis of selected CASP15 targets, focusing on their biological and functional significance. The authors of the structures identify and discuss key protein features and evaluate how effectively these aspects were captured in the submitted predictions. While the overall ability to predict three-dimensional protein structures continues to impress, reproducing uncommon features not previously observed in experimental structures is still a challenge. Furthermore, instances with conformational flexibility and large multimeric complexes highlight the need for novel scoring strategies to better emphasize biologically relevant structural regions. Looking ahead, closer integration of computational and experimental techniques will play a key role in determining the next challenges to be unraveled in the field of structural molecular biology