Meysam Jangkhah, Faramarz Farrahi , Abdolhossein Shiravi, Mohammad Ali Sadighi Gilani , Seyed Jalil Hosseini , Farid Dadkhah, Reza Salman Yazdi, Mohammad Chehrazi,
Volume 73, Issue 6 (September 2015)
Abstract
Background: Varicocele is recognized as the most common cause of male factor infertility and is found in 15% of the general population. This prevalence increases to 35% in men presenting with primary infertility and between 70 to 80% in men presenting with secondary infertility. The effect of varicocele on Leydig cell function and testosterone production has been always a question. In this study we examined the effect of varicocelectomy on serum testosterone.
Methods: This research protocol was approved by the institutional review board at Royan Institute in infertility department and also this study has been done in Royan Institute (Tehran, Iran) during one year since September 2012 till October 2013. In this cross-sectional study, Serum levels of total testosterone in 79 men with clinical varicocele and in 70 fertile men who served as a control group were compared. Men aged 23–46 years with clinically palpable varicoceles as determined by physical examination were studied. Three to 6 months, testosterone levels were measured again after varicocelectomy, then testosterone levels were compared before and after varicocelectomy.
Results: The mean of serum testosterone levels before surgery in infertile men with varicocele and fertile men were 590(230) vs. 583(237) ng/dl respectively. No statistically significant changes were noted in serum testosterone levels for any groups. Three month after varicocelectomy mean serum testosterone levels were significantly increased in infertile men with varicocele compared with preoperative levels from 590 (230) to 663 (242) ng/dl (P=0.009). Also the testis volume of patients were examined, which were divided into two groups included the men with testis volume less than 16 ml (<16) and more than 16 ml (≥16).
Conclusion: In infertile men affected with clinical varicocele, varicocelectomy seems to have caused positive impact on the level of serum testosterone increase. It is thought that positive effect is probably caused by improvement of the Leydig cell functions which induce the increase of serum testosterone level.
Mostafa Kazemi , Mohammad Hossain Dadkhah Tehrani , Ali Asghar Khaleghi, Masoud Mohammadi ,
Volume 81, Issue 9 (December 2023)
Abstract
Background: Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, which is associated with a high prevalence, especially in the elderly male population. Treatment options for non-metastatic prostate cancer usually include active surveillance, radiotherapy and surgery, so the aim of the present study is a systematic review of brachytherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer.
Methods: The study conducted is a systematic review article in which a review of the treatment of prostate cancer with brachytherapy has been done. The information used is taken from articles published in Persian and English in Google scholar, SID and PubMed databases from 2000 to 2022. The selected keywords in this article included Brachy therapy, Prostate cancer, Radio therapy, Prostate neoplasms, High dose rate, Low dose rate and External beam radio therapy. Selection of studies was done according to PRISMA guidelines.
Results: Brachytherapy can be classified into 2 types of permanent implantation and temporary implantation based on the length of the treatment period. In permanent brachytherapy implants for prostate cancer, iodine (125I) or palladium (103Pd) are used as radioactive sources for low dose rate cases and for high dose rate brachytherapy. Iridium (192Ir) is used. Brachytherapy is usually used in two ways, either as a monotherapy in which LDR and HDR are used to treat some low-risk patients, or as a booster treatment after other treatments such as EBRT, which here may be part of the treatment process before, after, or during treatment. In contrast to brachytherapy alone, brachytherapy plus EBRT is an appropriate approach in patients with intermediate-risk and high-risk disease. In high-risk patients, the combined use of EBRT and HDR-BT can lead to better results than EBRT alone. Brachytherapy treatment is not suitable for every disease.
Conclusion: One of the main advantages of this treatment method is the ability to administer a high dose of radiation while minimizing radiation exposure to adjacent healthy organs. Since optimal dose distribution occurs in the treatment, quality treatment can be ensured. The results obtained from both forms of brachytherapy are generally suitable and comparable to other treatment methods with fewer side effects.
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