Showing 17 results for Akbarzadeh
A Akbarzadeh Bagheban, G Babaei, A Kazemnejad, S Faghihzadeh, F Baradaran Anaraki, Z Elahipanah,
Volume 64, Issue 3 (1 2006)
Abstract
Background: Intra-rater agreement in observing and decision making in diagnosis of any disease is of great importance.This investigation is to observe and read ultrasound pictures of ovarian cysts and distinguish its category for any radiologist. Distinguishability is one of the related entities in this matter and radiologists&apos ability in correct diagnosis is of great concern. In this study, we evaluated radiologist’s distinguishability of ordered categories of ovarian cyst diseases (benign, borderline and malignant) in ultrasonography. To do this, we measured intra-rater agreement of radiologists by Weighted Kappa coefficient, and then by the help of “square scores association model” and “agreement plus square scores association model” we evaluated their distinguishability in diagnosis of the severity of the ovarian cyst’s diseases.
Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, two radiologists and three radiology residents assessed ultrasounds of 40 patients separately and independently in two periods (with the interval of one week). Patients selected from those who were referred to Mirza Koochak Khan Hospital in January 2005. Ultrasounds were performed by an expert radiologist and by a single apparatus.
Result: Data from radiologists was evaluated by “square scores association model” due to their superior results of distinguishability. Mean of Weighted Kappa coefficient was 0.81 and intra-rater agreement was 0.99 for our radiologists, but due to weaker results of our residents, we used “agreement plus square scores association model” for analyzing and mean of Weighted Kappa coefficient was 0.65 and intra-rater agreement was 0.97 for them.
Conclusion: Although radiologists had a better function than their residents, all of them showed appropriate distinguishability and intra-rater agreement in diagnosis and categorizing of the ovarian cyst’s disease. To distinguish benign category from borderline was more difficult than to distinguish malignant category from borderline and radiologists showed better results in this than their residents did.
Doosti S, Basseri H.r, Nategh Pour M, Akbarzadeh K, Ladoni H, Shaeghi M,
Volume 64, Issue 12 (6 2006)
Abstract
Background: Although there have been many studies on the role of mosquitoes in malarial transmission, the biology and interaction of plasmodium with its host is still not completely known. The aim of this study was primarily to follow the sporogony cycle of Plasmodium vivax in Anopheles stephensi mysorensis and then to explore the inhibitory effects of certain carbohydrates on parasitic development.
Methods: In a restricted insectary, An. stephensi were fed blood containing gametocytes from donor malaria patients. The development of plasmodium was followed by dissecting the infected mosquitoes and taking a smear at different time intervals. Other groups of Anopheles were fed infected blood plus one of the following carbohydrates: N-acetyl-glucosamine, N-acetyl-galactosamine, arabinose, fucose, manose, lactose or galactose.
Results: Exflagellation occurred at 5 minutes after the blood meal and then ookinet was observed at 20 hours, while oocysts and sporozoites appeared in days 8 to 12. The results indicate that An. stephensi strain mysorensis has can transfer P. vivax extremely well. Furthermore, the development of P. vivax was completed in the mosquitoes that had been fed with N-acetyl-glucosamine, arabinose, fucose and galactose. In contrast, lactose, mannose and N-acetyl-galactosamine interrupted the life cycle of the parasite.
Conclusion: The sugars lactose, mannose and N-acetyl-galactosamine have an inhibitory role in of oocyst and sporozoite development. Therefore, the results of this study can be used as basic information for inhibiting malarial transmission.
Shemshad K, Oshaghi Ma, Yaghoobi-Ershadi Mr, Vatandoost H, Abaie Mr, Akbarzadeh K, Telmadarraiy Z, Rafi-Nejad J, Derakhshandeh Paykar P,
Volume 65, Issue 1 (5 2008)
Abstract
Background: Malaria is still one of the main health problems in south and southeast provinces of Iran and recently on average 10,000-30,000 malaria cases were reported annually. Mosquitoes of Anopheles superpictus are one of the main malaria vectors in Iran and have been reported from all areas of the country including central plateau and plains of Alborz and Zagrous Mountains chains, and with low numbers in shore plains of the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea. There are variations in larval and adult morphological characters and also in vectorial capacity of this species in different areas of Iran.
Methods: This study has been conducted to investigate rate of mtDNA variation among various populations of this species in Iran. The sequence variation of an 1512 bp length of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase subunits 1 and 2 (COI-COII) and an 708 bp sequences of COI gene were analyzed by PCR-RFLP and PCR-direct sequencing respectively.
Results: This study showed that there are considerable variations between and within populations. Rate of variation was 12.3 % between populations and this was 2-5% for within Baluchistan population. Totally 4 haplotypes were observed between populations where 3 occur in Baluchistan and one in other places.
Conclusion: This is the first report on existence of various haplotypes in An. superpictus in science, and presumably this species comprising siblings and is a species complex. Further studies need to confirm this result and to determine the relationship between mtDNA haplotypes and their role in malaria transmission in each locality.
Asadi Amoli F, Akbarzadeh Jahromi M, Attar M, Azadbakht F,
Volume 66, Issue 8 (5 2008)
Abstract
Background: Chlamydia Trachomatis is the most common cause of trachoma and subsequently give rise to neonatal chlamydial conjunctivitis (NCC), adult ophthalmic inclusion infection, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and pneumonia. The goal of this study was to access the incidence of chlamydia trachomatis in the normal (ophthalmic infection free) population.
Methods: In a cross sectional study 250 patients referring to Farabi Eye university Hospital Tehran, Iran for non infectious ophthalmic disease in different age categories were selected and accessed for chlamydial IgM and IgG by ELISA method.
Results: 250 patients (50% men and 50% women) with the mean age of 40 (ranging from one to 83 years old) were tested. IgG was detected in 11 (five females and six males) patients (4.4%) All of them had more than 31 years old. IgM was detected in 18 (13 females and 5 males) patients (7.2%). No test revealed simultaneous high IgG and IgM titre in the same patient.
Conclusions: There was a low grade of chlamydial infection in our study population. So it is recommended to use serological methods for screening of ophthalmic infections in centers where no other test methods are available and in case of positive results confirmatory antigen tests to be used.
Akbarzadeh Baghban A, Jambarsang S, Pezeshk H, Nayeri F,
Volume 70, Issue 5 (5 2012)
Abstract
Background: Hypothermia is an important determinant of survival in newborns, especially among
low-birth-weight ones. Prolonged hypothermia leads to edema, generalized hemorrhage, jaundice and ultimately death. This study was undertaken to examine
the factors affecting transition from hypothermic state in neonates.
Methods: The study consisted
of 439 neonates hospitalized in NICU of Valiasr in Tehran, Iran in 2005. The neonates' rectal temperature was measured immediately after birth and every 30 minutes afterwards, until neonates passed hypothermia stages. In order to estimate the rate of transition from neonatal hypothermic state, we used multi-state Markov models with two covariates, birth weight and environmental temperature. We also used R package to fit the model.
Results: Estimated transition rates from severe hypothermia and mild hypothermia were 0.1192 and 0.0549 per minute,
respectively. Weight had a significant effect on transition from hypothermia to normal condition (95% CI: 0.1364-0.4165, P<0.001). Environmental
temperature significantly affected the transition from hypothermia to normal stage (95% CI: 0.0439-0.4963, P<0.001).
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that neonates with normal weight and neonates in an environmental temperature greater than 28 °C had a higher transition rate from hypothermia stages. Since birth weight at the time of delivery is not under the control of medical staff, keeping the environmental
temperature in an optimum level could help neonates to pass through the hypothermiastages faster.
Mehdi Mohebi , Khalil Pourkhalili , Mahnaz Kesmati , Samad Akbarzadeh , Zahra Akbari ,
Volume 72, Issue 3 (June 2014)
Abstract
Background: Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (AAS) are mainly abused by athletes for improvement of muscle performance. Data suggest that the effect of AAS on neurobiochemicals related to behavioral response, may be underlies psychological adverse effects. Physical activity has beneficial psychophysiological effects, which may be related to increased serum levels of endogenous opioid peptides during exercise. In the present study we aimed to study the effect of chronic administration of nandrolone decanoate on beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin level in exercising rats.
Methods: In this experimental study, forty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned in two main groups of sedentary and trained (2 weeks swimming exercise). Animals in each group were divided in two subgroups of control (received nandrolone solvent) and drug treatment (received nandrolone 15 mg/kg, 5 times/week). After two weeks of swimming exercise and drug treatment, serum levels of beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin were measured using ELIZA.
Results: Our data showed that two weeks of swimming exercise training significantly increased serum beta-endorphin (114±5 vs. 98±5 ng/l in control group, P= 0.038) and met-enkephalin levels (1556±42 vs. 1475±27 ng/l in control group, P= 0.25). However, chronic administration of nandrolone decanoate in trained group considerably de-creased beta-endorphin (84±4 vs. 114±5 ng/l in control group, P= 0.002) and met-enkephalin levels (1378±36 vs. 1556±42 ng/l in control group, P= 0.011). The effect of supraphysiologic doses of nandrolone decanoate in control sedentary group was not statistically significant.
Conclusion: In the present study we show that chronic nandrolone decanoate admin-istration attenuates effects of two weeks swimming exercise on serum opioid peptide and reduces the level of beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin. Keeping in mind that opi-oidergic system play an important role in behavior, athletes abusing anabolic steroid drugs may potentially experience changes in mood and behavior.
Sara Jambarsang , Alireza Akbarzadeh Baghban , Seyed Saeed Hashemi Nazari, Farid Zayeri , Ali Nikfarjam ,
Volume 73, Issue 9 (December 2015)
Abstract
Background: After primary infection, the number of CD4 T-cells decreases with disease progress. The patient’s immunological status could inform by The CD4 T-cell counts over the time. The main purpose of this study is to assess the trend of CD4 cell count in HIV+ patient that received Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) by using a multistate Markov model to estimate transition intensities and transition probabilities among various states.
Methods: A total of 122 HIV+ patients were included in this cohort study who are undergoing Antiretroviral Therapy treatment in the Iran AIDS center in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran that inter during March 1995 to January 2005 and then fallow up to October 2014. All adults with at least two follow-up visits in addition to their pre-ART treatment were considered to be eligible for inclusion in the study. Continuous-time Markov processes are used to describe the evolution of a disease over different states. The mean sojourn time for each state was estimated by multi state Markov model.
Results: Sample included 22 (18%) female with a mean age of 43.32 (standard deviation 8.33) years and 100 (82%) male with a mean age of 45.28 (standard deviation 8.34) year. Age was divided in to two categories, 40 years old and lower than that 66 (54.1) patents and persons older than 40 years old 56 (45.9) patents. A total of 122 patients were included. 29 patients died during follow-up. One year transition probability for staying in state 1 of CD4 cell count was 51%. This probability for six year was 33%. The mean sojourn time for sate 4 was 21 month. The hazard ratio of transition from state 3 to state 4 was 4.4 in men related to women.
Conclusion: The use of antiretroviral therapy in the treatment of HIV infected persons reduce viral replication and increase in CD4 T lymphocyte count, and delay the progression of disease. This paper is shown the progression of this trend.
Raheleh Dorosti , Mehri Ghasemi , Khosro Khademi-Kalantari, Alireza Akbarzadeh-Baghban ,
Volume 75, Issue 7 (October 2017)
Abstract
Background: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is known as one of the most frequent knee diseases and is the most frequent cause of anterior knee pain. Despite the high prevalence of the disease, its predisposing factors are not clearly known. Neuromuscular control disorders of hip and lumbopelvic complex and instability of core redounds to instability of whole movement pack chain. The aim of the present was to comparing the electromyographic activities of core muscles and muscles around the knee joint during gait in patients with PFPS with healthy subjects.
Methods: This descriptive-analytic case-control study was carried out in School of Rehabilitation in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The present study was carried out during 10 months (April to February in 2016). Thirty-two subjects containing 17 patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome (10 females and 7 males) and 18 healthy subjects (10 females and 8 males) participated in this study. In both groups the electrical activities of some of the muscles around the knee joint and the core muscles containing vastus medialis (VM), adductor longus (AL), gluteus maximus (G Max), external oblique abdominis (EOA), internal oblique abdominis (IOA), transverse abdominis (TA) and multifidus (M) were recorded during gait. Onset and offset time, duration and intensity of muscles activities were compared between two groups.
Results: The results of the study showed that duration and intensity of the electrical activity of the gluteus maximus (respectively P=0.03, P=0.035) and offset time of electrical activity of the internal oblique abdominis (P=0.04) and the transverse abdominis (P=0.03) during gait, were significantly different between two groups. The external oblique abdominis and the multifidus electrical activities had not any significant differences between two groups (P>0.05).
Conclusion: It seems that electromyographic activities of some of core muscles in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome in comparison with healthy subjects are different. However, there was no differences in electromyographic activities in some of the muscles around the knee between patients and healthy subjects.
Razieh Nazari , Mehri Ghasemi , Farideh Dehghan-Manshadi , Alireza Akbarzadeh-Baghban ,
Volume 75, Issue 9 (December 2017)
Abstract
Background: Sonography is used for measuring the muscle morphology including length, depth, cross-sectional area, bulk and pennation angle. The supraspinatus is the most common affected muscle among the rotator cuff muscles. There is no study about the reliability of sonographic measurement of supraspinatus thickness in the positions of empty can (EC), full can (FC) and hug up (HU) tests. The present study aims to investigate the intra-rater reliability of the measurement of sonographic thickness of supraspinatus muscle in the rest and positions of the EC, FC and HU tests.
Methods: The present study was a descriptive-analytic study which was carried out in a cross-sectional method on ten healthy women aged: 22.10±2.76 years without any tendon pathology. The study was carried out during four weeks (January to March in 2017). The supraspinatus thickness was scanned during rest and contracted states. The positions of measuring ultrasonic thickness of supraspinatus were as follow: position of EC test: the arm in 90-degree elevation in the scaption plane with the thumb-down, position of FC test: the arm in 90-degree elevation in the scaption plane with the thumb-up, position of HU test: the palm of hand was placed on the opposite shoulder with the elbow flexed using a 0.5-kg weight cuff. Intra-rater reliability of ultrasonic muscle thickness measurements were examined in one day.
Results: All intra-rater reliability values were equal or more than 0.90: the value was 0.90 (95%CI: 0.65-0.97) in the rest position, while for the measurement of ultrasonic thickness of the supraspinatus was 0.96 (95%CI: 0.87-0.99) in the position of EC test, 0.97 (95%CI: 0.90-0.99) and 0.96 (95%CI: 0.86-0.99) in the positions of FC and HU tests, respectively.
Conclusion: Measurement of ultrasonic thickness of supraspinatus muscle is a reliable method in the rest and positions of EC, FC and HU tests. This method can be used to compare the muscle thickness changes in the positions of the above tests.
Maedeh Saremiyan , Nahid Tahan , Alireza Akbarzadeh Baghban,
Volume 76, Issue 2 (May 2018)
Abstract
Background: The previous studies showed that the odor can improve balance in the elderly. The purpose of the current study was to determine the effect of olfactory stimulus and its gender specific effect on the balance of young healthy people.
Methods: This is a pretest-posttest semi experimental study comprised 40 healthy volunteers (age range 18-73 years) from February 2016 through May 2017. The static balance test with one-leg standing time (OLST) and dynamic balance test using Biodex balance system to measure overall stability index (OSI), anterior/posterior stability index (APSI), medial/lateral stability index (MLSI) and overall limit of stability index (OLOSI) randomly were performed before and after application of lavender scant as the olfactory stimuli. A two-way repeated measurement ANOVA was used to assess the effect of olfactory stimulus conditions and gender on dynamic balance indexes (OSI, APSI, MLSI, and OLOSI). Since the distribution of the OLST was not normal, the generalized estimating equations (GEE) method was used. Significance level of P<0.05 was adopted for all comparisons. Means are reported±SD unless otherwise stated. SPSS software, version 21 (IBM SPSS, Armonk, NY, USA) was used to carry out all statistical analyses.
Results: The results showed that in comparison of the two different conditions (no odor/with odor), there was no significant difference in any of static and dynamic balance indexes (P>0.05). There were significant differences in relation to the interaction of the gender and odor in OSI (P=0.026), APSI (P=0.019). For gender, there were statistically significant differences in OSI (P=0.002, F (1,38) =11.649), APSI (P=0.001, F (1,38) =12.057), and MLSI (P=0.007, F (1,38) =8.228) for females.
Conclusion: Although there was no effect of odor on balance control of young healthy people, we found that the odor has gender specific effect. This is probably due to the more sensitivity of females to the odor.
Tayebeh Mirhashemi , Mehri Ghasemi , Frideh Dehghan-Manshadi , Alireza Akbarzadeh-Baghban , Alimohammad Faizi , Alireza Sabbaghian ,
Volume 76, Issue 5 (August 2018)
Abstract
Background: Some studies show that frozen shoulder is due to the pathologic changes in the muscles around the shoulder. Measurement of the ultrasonic thickness of a muscle is a method for measuring the muscle changes. There is no study about the reliability of measurement of the muscle’s ultrasonic thickness around the shoulder in patients with frozen shoulder. The present study aims to investigate the intra-rater reliability of the ultrasonic thickness measurement of the supraspinatus, deltoid and upper trapezius muscles in women with frozen shoulder and healthy women.
Methods: This study was carried out during 4 months (June to October 2017). Twenty women consisted of 10 patients with frozen shoulder (mean age: 51.6±9.41 years) and 10 healthy subjects (mean age: 35.5±8.22 years) participated in this study. The patients from some clinics and hospitals in Tehran, and healthy subjects consisted of some personals and students in the School of Rehabilitation of Shahid Beheshti university of Medical Sciences participated in the present study. Measurements of ultrasonic thickness of the upper trapezius, supraspinatus and deltoid muscles in rest position carried out by the same rater two times in 48 hours. Ultrasonography instrument with linear probe (frequency: 7.5 MHz) were used for measurement of muscle thickness in millimeter.
Results: Reliability of the ultrasonic measurements of the muscle thickness in patients and healthy subjects was respectively as follow: The upper trapezius muscle (0.81, 0.81), the supraspinatus muscle (0.90, 0.92) and the middle deltoid muscle (0.93, 0.96). The reliability of the ultrasonic measurements of the muscle thickness for the upper trapezius muscle and the supraspinatus muscle was higher in healthy subjects compared to the patients with frozen shoulder. The reliability of the ultrasonic measurements of the middle deltoid thickness for the patients and healthy subjects was similar.
Conclusion: It seems that ultrasonography is a reliable method for measuring the thickness of the muscles around the shoulder in patients with frozen shoulder and healthy subjects.
Samane Khalkhali , Nahid Tahan , Alireza Akbarzadeh Baghban ,
Volume 76, Issue 8 (November 2018)
Abstract
Background: The transverse abdominis (TrA) muscle is one of the most important muscles that contribute to the stability of the lumbar spine. Strengthening of trunk muscles that have a significant role in trunk stability is very important in the field of professional sport, sport medicine and rehabilitation of patient with low back pain (LBP). Identifying the exercises that can improve the strength and endurance of these muscles in the efficient way is an important challenge in rehabilitation of LBP patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maximum voluntary isometric contraction of upper and lower limb muscles on ultrasonic thickness of the TrA muscle.
Methods: This is a pre-test post-test study. Thirty healthy young male subjects with mean age of 23 years were recruited from the university staff and student population (non probability sample). Ultrasonic thickness of the right and left TrA muscle (as an indirect measure of muscle activity) was taken at rest and during maximum isometric contraction of six muscle groups: shoulder and hip flexor, extensor and abductor muscles. Mixed-model ANOVA with repeated measures design were used to analyze data. To further analyses post hoc comparisons were performed with paired t-tests adjusted with the Bonferroni method. The significance level was set at P<0.05.
Results: The result showed that mean TrA thickness on right and left sides during maximum isometric contraction of the upper and lower limb muscles was significantly thicker than in resting position (P<0.001). The type of isometric contraction had a significant effect on the thickness of the TrA muscle on dominant side (P<0.05). As a result, the greatest change in the thickness of TrA muscle on dominant side was observed in hip isometric extension (P<0.05). There was a significant difference between the thickness of TrA during upper limb isometric contraction of dominant and non-dominant side (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Isometric contraction of upper and lower limb muscles especially in hip extension can increase the ultrasonic thickness of the transversus abdominis muscle.
Mahsa Nazari, Farid Zayeri , Seyed Saeed Hashemi Nazari , Sara Jambarsang, Ali Nikfarjam , Alireza Akbarzadeh Baghban ,
Volume 77, Issue 2 (May 2019)
Abstract
Background: The Multi state Markov models have extensively application with categorization of laboratory marker of CD4 cells for evaluation of HIV disease progression. These models with different states result in different effects of covariates and prediction of HIV disease trend. The main purpose of this study was comparison of four and five states models with the three- state in order to select the model with better prediction ability of occurrence of HIV and finally death in HIV positive people.
Methods: A total of 305 HIV positive people were included in this cohort study in the Iran AIDS center in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran that entered during March 1995 to January 2005 and then fallowed up to October 2014. The three continuous- time Markov models of three-, four- and five- state models were fitted to data to describe the evolution of a HIV disease Trend over different states.
For comparison of models, two criteria of modification of Akaike’s criterion (DRAIC) and likelihood cross-validation criterion (DRLCV) along with their 95% tracking interval was used. For fitting of these models and estimation of transition matrix and the hazard ratio of gender and treatment independent variables, the msm package of R project for statistical computing, version R 3.2.4 (www.r-project.org) was used.
Results: The results showed that the four- state model has more prediction ability than five-state model for evaluation of HIV disease Trend. In the four-state model, the progression hazard ratio to death for people who received highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was 0.64 lower than who didn’t get this therapy. Moreover, the progression hazard ratio for men was 2.33 fold in comparison to women. The disease progression hazard ratio to death was 4.9 fold for men in comparison to women.
Conclusion: The (DRAIC) and (DRLCV) criterions showed that the four-state model has more predictive ability of the progression trend of HIV disease in comparison of five-state model.
Razieh Nazari , Mehri Ghasemi , Farideh Dehghan-Manshadi , Alireza Akbarzadeh-Baghban ,
Volume 77, Issue 8 (November 2019)
Abstract
Background: Rotator cuff injuries are the most common causes of shoulder pain and supraspinatus muscle is usually involved. Clinical tests are available and inexpensive tools for assessment of shoulder dysfunctions. The empty can (EC) and full can (FC) tests are considered as shoulder gold standard tests. Recently, hug up (HU) test has been developed to assess the supraspinatus. So far, no ultrasonographic study has compared supraspinatus muscle thickness in these testing positions. The present study aimed to compare the supraspinatus muscle thickness in the hug up testing position with the full can and empty can testing positions in young and healthy women.
Methods: Forty healthy women (mean age 21.62±2.4 years) participated in this cross-sectional-comparative study from April to June 2018 in the Biomechanic Laboratory of Rehabilitation School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. The supraspinatus muscle thickness was scanned during rest and contracted states with a 0.5 Kg weight cuff. For contracted states, (A) EC testing position: the arm was at 90º abduction in the scaption plane with the thumb-down, (B) FC testing position: the arm was maintained at 90º abduction in the scaption plane with the thumb-up, (C) HU testing position: the palm of hand was placed on the opposite shoulder with the elbow flexed.
Results: The Bonferroni test showed significant differences (P<0.001) between the muscle thickness in the rest and the testing positions. The muscle thickness in the empty can testing position was significantly less than the full can testing position (P=0.001), no significant difference was found between the muscle thickness in the hug up testing position compared to the full can and empty can testing positions.
Conclusion: All of the empty can, full can and hug up testing positions demonstrated increased mean muscle thickness when compared to the rest position and the greatest muscle thickness was in the full can testing position. It seems that supraspinatus muscle thickness in hug up testing position is similar with empty can and full can testing positions.
Banafshe Safaeifard, Mehri Ghasemi, Khosro Khademi-Kalantari , Alireza Akbarzadeh-Baghban, Yaghoub Shavehee,
Volume 79, Issue 4 (July 2021)
Abstract
Background: Posturography is a method in which the postural stability of adults is evaluated by measuring the center of pressure sway. This study aims to evaluate the reproducibility of measuring the center of pressure oscillation in standing position with internal perturbation in healthy young women with and without hyperkyphosis.
Methods: Ten women with dorsal hyperkyphosis with the mean age of 23.5±2.65 years and 10 healthy women with the mean age of 21.9±1.3 years (October 2018 to February 2019) were recruited for the study. Subjects were asked to perform rapid bilateral arm elevation while standing on a force plate. Standard deviation of the amplitude and The standard deviation of the velocity of the center of pressure sway in anterior-posterior, Medio-lateral directions and the area of sway were used for statistical analysis. Measurements were carried out by one examiner with a 1-day interval in The Biomechanics laboratory of The School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The relative reproducibility of the measurements was calculated by Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable changes (MDC).
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Results: The intra-rater reliability of standard deviation of the center of pressure sway velocity and amplitude of both directions in both groups were more than 0.75. The intra-rater reliability of the area of the center of pressure sway in the healthy and hyperkyphosis group were 0.42 and 0.38 respectively.
Conclusion: Standard deviation of the amplitude and standard deviation of the velocity of the center of pressure sway can be considered as reliable variables for assessing static balance in young women with and without dorsal hyperkyphosis in future studies. However, the inconsistency of sway area especially in women with hyperkyphosis suggests that the use of it for differentiation between subjects and the assessment of the outcome of any interventions on the postural stability should be considered with caution.
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Mahdi Akbarzadeh, Danial Habibi , Goodarz Kolifarhood , Mohammad Bidkhori, Fereidoun Azizi , Maryam S. Daneshpour,
Volume 80, Issue 11 (February 2023)
Abstract
Background: Mendelian randomization (MR) is a new generation in the statistical method that uses genetic variants as instrumental variables in data from non-experimental studies to evaluate and estimate the causal effects of risk factors.
Methods: The weakness of observational studies to detect causality, the difficulties of conducting clinical trials, the dramatic advancement of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have led to the emergence of a new type of study called MR. It is increasingly being used to determine causality MR is an approach based on meta-analysis methods. The main idea of the MR is based on using the instrument variable (IV) to find the causality between exposure and outcome. This variable does not need to adjust the confounding effects found in observational studies.
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Results: Data for this study were collected from the beginning of January 2003 to October 2020 in PubMed. Our results showed that MR has an increasing trend. The data used in MR includes summarized statistical data, individual-level data, and meta-analysis. Choosing the suitable IV is essential to successfully conduct an MR. For an unbiased estimate, three main hypotheses should be considered: 1) The IV has a strong relationship with the desired exposure (i.e., potential risk factor), 2) The IV is not related to the confounding variable, and 3) The IV is not directly related to the outcome and should only relate to the outcome through exposure. If these conditions are not met, one solution is to use robust methods. Besides, this research introduced the study designs, estimation methods, limitations, software packages, and some applications of MR in medical research.
Conclusion: When we seek to find a causal relationship, but it is not possible to use a clinical trial as a standard method, the MR design can be used in observational studies. Therefore, it is possible to obtain causal relationships between exposure and outcome using the MR.
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Saeed Rahmani, Aliakbar Shafiee, Abbas Riazi , Alireza Akbarzadeh Baghban , Alireza Jafari , Maryam Dashti,
Volume 82, Issue 6 (September 2024)
Abstract
Background: Problems related to blue light exposure are among the various issues experienced by individuals who have undergone Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK).Given the growing concerns regarding blue light’s effects on visual health, this study aimed to thoroughly investigate the impacts of blue blocker filters on the improvement of vision in patients post-refractive surgery of the PRK type. The primary objective was to evaluate the overall effectiveness of these filters in enhancing visual quality and in reducing complications associated with the surgery, which can significantly affect a patient’s quality of life.
Methods: In a quasi-experimental study conducted from September 1, 2024, to the end of October 2024, individuals who had undergone PRK surgery were examined at the optometry clinic of Dr. Labbafi Nejad Hospital in Tehran. Participants were subjected to assessments both with and without the application of blue blocker filters. Key parameters, including visual acuity and contrast sensitivity among attendees, were meticulously measured under both conditions. The results were then systematically compared and analyzed to draw meaningful conclusions about the impact of blue blocker filters in this context.
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Results: A total of thirty-four participants, comprising 73.5% females and 26.5% males, with an average age of 32.6 years, were incorporated into the study. Post-surgery, the average refraction measured in the right and left eyes was documented as -0.42±0.16 D and -0.30±0.16 D, respectively. Notably, visual acuity in both eyes significantly improved with the use of the blue light blocking filter (P<0.005) Moreover, contrast sensitivity at varying spatial frequencies of 1.5, 6, and 18 cycles per degree (c/d) also exhibited significant enhancement (P<0.005).
Conclusion: The incorporation of blue blocker filters for individuals with a history of PRK surgery has led to noteworthy improvements in visual acuity and enhanced contrast sensitivity. These findings underscore the critical importance of integrating blue light protection in the post-operative care of patients, as it significantly elevates the overall visual experience and may contribute to better long-term outcomes following refractive surgery.
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