Endocrine contribution to the sexual dysfunction in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and the role of hyperprolactinemia.

In this study, we investigated the prevalence of sexual dysfunction among males with advanced chronic kidney disease and the effect of treating hyperprolactinemia among these patients. In this prospective study, patients were assessed with history, physical examination, hormonal assessment, and two questionnaires, IIEF and AIPE. Patients with hyperprolactinemia received treatment with cabergoline 0.5 mg once per week for 6 months and were re-evaluated. A total of 102 patients were included in this study, 75 (73.53%) were on hemodialysis, 13 (12.75%) on peritoneal dialysis and 14 (13.73%) on medical treatment alone. Ninety (88.24%) patients had premature ejaculation, 85 (83.33%) had anything from mild-to-moderate-to-severe erectile dysfunction. The incidence of hypogonadism and hyperprolactinemia was 34.4%. Patients treated with cabergoline (n = 26) showed a significant increase in LH levels (p = .003) and a significant decrease in prolactin levels (p = .003). Testosterone levels and the incidence of erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation did not improve significantly. There is a high incidence of sexual dysfunction among patients. Treatment of hyperprolactinemia is effective in correcting prolactin levels, but does not improve erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation. Therefore, treating hyperprolactinemia is not an overall effective treatment for erectile dysfunction in these patients

The effect of paternal age on intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome in unexplained infertility

Objective : To examine the effect of paternal age on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes in unexplained infertility Subjects and Methods : This retrospective study, done at the Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar screened infertile couples who underwent ICSI between 2014 and 2019 for the inclusion and exclusion criteria defining ‘unexplained infertility’. Couples recruited were allocated into two groups: Group A (paternal age <35 years) and Group B (paternal age ≥35 years). Baseline characteristics, investigations including semen and advanced sperm function tests and ICSI records were compared for primary outcomes such as fertilisation, cleavage, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage and live birth; and secondary outcomes such as semen parameters and advanced sperm functions (DNA fragmentation index and oxidation reduction potential). Results : We found that final pregnancy outcomes including clinical pregnancy rate (P = 0.231), live-birth rate (P = 0.143), and miscarriage rates (P = 0.466) were not significantly different between the two age groups. Normal fertilisation (P = 0.01) and cleavage rate after ICSI (P = 0.001) were statistically significant when the age groups were compared. Also, normal sperm morphology was found to be significantly different (P = 0.041). Conclusions : Advanced paternal age affects sperm morphology, fertilisation and embryo cleavage in ICSI but does not appear to affect clinical pregnancy, miscarriage or live-birth rates. ICSI appears to be a valid fertility treatment option in advancing paternal age

Preliminary examination of the efficacy and safety of a standardized chamomile extract for chronic primary insomnia: A randomized placebo-controlled pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite being the most commonly used herbal for sleep disorders, chamomile's (<it>Matricaria recutita</it>) efficacy and safety for treating chronic primary insomnia is unknown. We examined the preliminary efficacy and safety of chamomile for improving subjective sleep and daytime symptoms in patients with chronic insomnia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial in 34 patients aged 18-65 years with DSM-IV primary insomnia for ≥ 6-months. Patients were randomized to 270 mg of chamomile twice daily or placebo for 28-days. The primary outcomes were sleep diary measures. Secondary outcomes included daytime symptoms, safety assessments, and effect size of these measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no significant differences between groups in changes in sleep diary measures, including total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency, sleep latency, wake after sleep onset (WASO), sleep quality, and number of awakenings. Chamomile did show modest advantage on daytime functioning, although these did not reach statistical significance. Effect sizes were generally small to moderate (Cohen's <it>d </it>≤ 0.20 to < 0.60) with sleep latency, night time awakenings, and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), having moderate effect sizes in favor of chamomile. However, TST demonstrated a moderate effect size in favor of placebo. There were no differences in adverse events reported by the chamomile group compared to placebo.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Chamomile could provide modest benefits of daytime functioning and mixed benefits on sleep diary measures relative to placebo in adults with chronic primary insomnia. However, further studies in select insomnia patients would be needed to investigate these conclusions.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01286324">NCT01286324</a></p

Generalized PVO‐based dynamic block reversible data hiding for secure transmission using firefly algorithm

In this paper, we proposed a novel generalized pixel value ordering–based reversible data hiding using firefly algorithm (GPVOFA). The sequence of minimum and maximum number pixels value has been used to embed the secret data while prediction and modification are held on minimum, and the maximum number of pixel blocks is used to embed the secret data into multiple bits. The host image is divided into the size of noncoinciding dynamic blocks on the basis of firefly quadtree partition, whereas rough blocks are divided into a larger size; moreover, providing more embedding capacity used small flat blocks size and optimal location in the block to write the information. Our proposed method becomes able to embed large data into a host image with low distortion. The rich experimental results are better, as compared with related preceding arts

Risk Factors for Readmission with Cerebrospinal Fluid Leakage Within 30 Days of Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery.

BackgroundCerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak is a well-recognized complication after surgical resection of vestibular schwannomas and is associated with a number of secondary complications, including readmission and meningitis.ObjectiveTo identify risk factors for and timing of 30-d readmission with CSF leak.MethodsPatients who had undergone surgical resection of a vestibular schwannoma from 1995 to 2010 were identified in the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development database. The most common admission diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease, ninth Revision, diagnosis codes, and predictors of readmission with CSF leak were determined using logistic regression.ResultsA total of 6820 patients were identified. CSF leak, though a relatively uncommon cause of admission after discharge (3.52% of all patients), was implicated in nearly half of 490 readmissions (48.98%). Significant independent predictors of readmission with CSF leak were male sex (odds ratio [OR] 1.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32-2.25), first admission at a teaching hospital (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.06-10.39), CSF leak during first admission (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.33-2.55), obesity during first admission (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.20-3.66), and case volume of first admission hospital (OR of log case volume 0.82, 95% CI 0.70-0.95). Median time to readmission was 6 d from hospital discharge.ConclusionThis study has quantified CSF leak as an important contributor to nearly half of all readmissions following vestibular schwannoma surgery. We propose that surgeons should focus on technical factors that may reduce CSF leakage and take advantage of potential screening strategies for the detection of CSF leakage prior to first admission discharge