Evaluation of Thermal Imaging in the Diagnosis and Classification of Varicocele

Introduction: A varicocele is the abnormal dilation and tortuosity of venous plexus above the testicles. The pattern of abnormal heat distribution in the scrotum can be detected through thermal imaging, which is a distant, non-contact, and non-invasive method. The aim of the present study is to detect and grade varicocele. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 50 patients with high probability of varicocele, who referred to a hospital affiliated to the AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The evaluation procedure included thermal imaging, clinical diagnosis, and ultrasound test. The gold standard method was based on ultrasound examination. The thermal imaging was performed using a non-contact infrared camera. Results: This paper presented two methods for diagnosing and grading varicocele. The first method was based on the patterns and models of thermal asymmetry in the testicles (including three asymmetric and symmetric patterns). The second method was based on the temperature differences. The obtained results demonstrated that the use of temperature differences in the diagnosis of varicocele was better than the other proposed method. In addition, a temperature difference of 0.5°C in the pampiniform venous plexus was an important indicator for the diagnosis of varicocele using thermal imaging. The accuracy of thermography in grading varicocele was 76%.  Conclusion: According to the results of the study, thermography is a useful method for initial varicocele screening and can be applied as a supplement to other diagnostic techniques due to its low cost and lack of radiation exposure. Thermography was concluded to be a precise technique for the diagnosis of varicocele; however, its capability to determine the varicocele grading was comparatively low

Model of hierarchical self-organizing neural networks for detecting and classifying diabetic retinopathy

Background: One common symptom of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, if not timely diagnosed and treated, leads to blindness. Retinal image analysis has been currently adopted to diagnose retinopathy. In this study, a model of hierarchical self-organized neural networks has been presented for the detection and classification of retina in diabetic patients. Methods: This study is a retrospective cross-sectional, conducted from December to February 2015 at the AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran. The study has been conducted on the MESSIDOR base, which included 1200 images from the posterior pole of the eye. Retinal images are classified into 3 categories: mild, moderate and severe. A system consisting of a new hybrid classification of SOM has been presented for the detection of retina lesions. The proposed system includes rapid preprocessing, extraction of lesions features, and finally provision of a classification model. In the preprocessing, the system is composed of three processes of primary separation of target lesions, separation of the optical disk, and separation of blood vessels from the retina. The second step is a collection of features based on various descriptions, such as morphology, color, light intensity, and moments. The classification includes a model of hierarchical self-organized networks named HSOM which is proposed to accelerate and increase the accuracy of lesions classification considering the high volume of information in the feature extraction. Results: The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the proposed model for the classification of diabetic retinopathy lesions is 98.9%, 96.77%, 97.87%, respectively. Conclusion: These days, the cases of diabetes with hypertension are constantly increasing, and one of the main adverse effects of this disease is related to eyes. In this respect, the diagnosis of retinopathy, which is the same as identification of exudates, microanurysm and bleeding, is of particular importance. The results show that the proposed model is able to detect lesions in diabetic retinopathy images and classify them with an acceptable accuracy. In addition, the results suggest that this method has an acceptable performance compared to other methods

The influence of socioeconomic factors on deceased organ donation in Iran

Background : There is a large gap between the number of patients on organ waiting lists and the number of available organs for donation. This study investigated the socioeconomic factors in Iran that influenced decisions for organ donation among the families of brain-dead donors. Methods : This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed among the families of 333 organ donors in Iran. Two trained researchers interviewed family members about the donor’s age, sex, cause of brain death, education level, marital status, number of children, history of addiction, the financial status of the donor’s family, and reasons for which they considered refusing organ donation. Results : The mean age of the donors was 37.23±16.59 years. During 2017–2019, significant differences were found according to income (P<0.001), marital status (P<0.001), sex (P=0.04), and occupation (P=0.04). More than half of the organ donors were of low socioeconomic status, and nearly half were the sole income earners of large families. Trauma was the most common cause of death (44.6%). The most common reasons for which the families considered refusing organ donation were unfamiliarity with the concept of brain death, denial, and the expectation of a miracle. Conclusions: The donor’s socioeconomic status and availability of social services, such as insurance coverage, psychological services, and mourning therapy courses, play an important role in organ donation. Adequate support for the deceased’s family after organ donation is imperative

Is Serum Uric Acid Level Correlated with Erectile Dysfunction in Coronary Artery Disease Patients?

Coronary artery disease (CAD) and vascular insufficiency are consequences of modern lifestyle, and vasogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of the leading causes of sexual dysfunction which could be prevented like ischemic heart disease if the risk factors are discovered and managed. Seventy-five men scheduled for coronary angiography were asked to fill out the IIEF5 questionnaire and underwent serum lipoprotein-a, uric acid, lipid profile, testosterone, Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), dehyderoepiandrostendion sulfate (DHEAS) tests; and the results were compared with those of erectile dysfunction patients with and without coronary artery disease. Ten out of 32 CAD patients (30%) and 6 of 43 normal coronary men had ED Prevalence (P=0.04). The average serum uric acid in ED patients with normal coronary was 5.6 (± 0.68) 6.5 ±078 mg/dl in ED patients of CAD group P=0.034. Men with both ED and CAD had significantly higher levels of lipoprotein-a compared to those CAD patients with normal sexual function. Higher uric acid and lipoprotein-a levels are correlated with the presence of ED in patients with CAD

The impact of generic form of Clopidogrel on cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery stent: results of the OPCES study

Background: To compare the early and late cardiovascular events as well as side effects of Osvix, a generic form of Clopidogrel versus Plavix regimens in patients with chronic stable angina, undergoing bare metal stent (BMS) or drug eluting stent (DES) placement, this study was carried out. Methods: A total of 442 patients with chronic stable angina who were scheduled for elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were included in a randomized, double blind, multi-centric clinical trial being performed in 6 distinct university hospitals in 5 cities of Iran from March 2007 to November 2009. Baseline, demographic and history of risk factors were recorded using the patients′ medical charts. Stenting procedure was performed via transfemoral approach using low osmolar contrast agents. Patients underwent BMS or DES placements based on the physician selection and were randomly assigned to Osvix or Plavix groups. Patients were followed by telephone in 0 and 6 months intervals regarding the major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including death, myocardial infarction, in-stent thrombosis, stroke, target lesion revascularization, and target vascular revascularization. Angina episodes, bleeding, liver enzymes, neutrophils and platelets count were also assessed in these intervals. Results: There was not any significant difference between these two groups regarding the baseline characteristics. In the DES group, the 6-month mortality rate and the incidence of MACE in Osvix and Plavix groups were 0.9% and 1.9% (p = 0.61) and 1.8% and 4.9% (p = 0.26), respectively. During the follow up period after DES or BMS placement, there wasn′t any significant difference regarding neutrophil and platelet counts or liver enzymes between study groups. Conclusions: Using Osvix and Plavix are followed by similar major cardiovascular events and side-effect profile in patients undergoing PCI