Detection of ophthalmic arterial doppler signals with Behcet disease using multilayer perceptron neural network

Doppler ultrasound is known as a reliable technique, which demonstrates the flow characteristics and resistance of ophthalmic arteries. In this study, ophthalmic arterial Doppler signals were obtained from 106 subjects, 54 of whom suffered from ocular Behcet disease while the rest were healthy subjects. Multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPNN) employing delta-bar-delta training algorithm was used to detect the presence of ocular Behcet disease. Spectral analysis of the ophthalmic arterial Doppler signals was performed by least squares (LS) autoregressive (AR) method for determining the MLPNN inputs. The MLPNN was trained with training set, cross validated with cross validation set and tested with testing set. All these data sets were obtained from ophthalmic arteries of healthy subjects and subjects suffering from ocular Behcet disease. Performance indicators and statistical measures were used for evaluating the MLPNN. The correct classification rate was 96.43% for healthy subjects and 93.75% for unhealthy subjects suffering from ocular Behcet disease. The classification results showed that the MLPNN employing delta-bar-delta training algorithm was effective to detect the ophthalmic arterial Doppler signals with Behcet disease.     

Infective agents in fixed human cadavers: a brief review and suggested guidelines

Cadavers remain a principal teaching tool for anatomists and medical educators teaching gross anatomy. Infectious pathogens in cadavers that present particular risks include Mycobacterium tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, the AIDS virus HIV, and prions that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS). It is often claimed that fixatives are effective in inactivation of these agents. Unfortunately cadavers, even though they are fixed, may still pose infection hazards to those who handle them. Specific safety precautions are necessary to avoid accidental disease transmission from cadavers before and during dissection and to decontaminate the local environment afterward. In this brief review, we describe the infectious pathogens that can be detected in cadavers and suggest safety guidelines for the protection of all who handle cadavers against infectious hazards.     

Antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide in patients with hepatic cirrhosis

This study investigated the relationship between the antioxidant capacity of blood and the serum level of nitric oxide (NO) in patients with hepatic cirrhosis. The study included 20 patients with compensated cirrhosis (group I), 30 with decompensated cirrhosis (group II), and 30 healthy controls (group III). The serum levels of NO, albumin, bilirubin, and uric acid, and the erythrocyte activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured in all groups. The mean erythrocyte SOD activity (5.94 +/- 3.21 U/mg protein) and serum NO level (25.19 +/- 8.15 micromol/L) in group I were similar to those of controls (6.86 +/- 2.47 U/mg protein and 21.67 +/- 6.51 micromol/L, respectively). However, erythrocyte SOD activity in group II was significantly lower than in groups I and III and mean serum NO level was significantly higher in group II than in groups I and III. In regard to non-enzymatic antioxidants, the mean serum albumin level was lower and the mean serum total bilirubin level was higher in group II than in groups I and III. As expected, group I had higher mean serum total bilirubin level than the control group. Correlation analysis showed that erythrocyte SOD activity in cirrhotic patients was negatively correlated with their serum levels of NO. These results suggest that disturbances of antioxidative mechanisms may diminish hepatic resistance to oxidative stress, thereby contributing to the development of fibrogenesis.     

The clinical impact of Prostate Imaging–Reporting and Data System classification in patients with haemospermia undergoing multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate

In this study, we evaluated the role of the Prostate Imaging–Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) classification of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) to determine the likelihood of prostate cancer (PCa) in patients with haemospermia. Fifty-one patients presenting with haemospermia between 2018 and 2020 were included in this retrospective study. Forty-two of the patients (82.4%) were over 40 years, and the median prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was 1.4 ng/ml. Fourteen of the patients (27.5%) had recurrent haemospermia. All patients underwent mpMRI, and assessments were classified according to PI-RADS v2. The mpMRI revealed PI-RADS one to four lesions in 10 (19.6%), 30 (58.8%), 6 (11.8%) and 5 (9.8%) patients respectively. One patient with PI-RADS 3 and five with PI-RADS 4 lesions underwent cognitive fusion prostate biopsy depending on MRI findings, and two patients with PI-RADS 4 lesions were diagnosed with PCa. Patients with haemospermia and risk factors, that is aged over 40 years, a high PSA level or familial history of PCa, need a more thorough evaluation with mpMRI.     

Polyorchidism in ultrasound examination: A case report

Polyorchidism is usually diagnosed incidentally when the patient undergoes imaging or surgery for some other reason. Although we are facing lack of evidence in different steps of diagnostic and therapeutic workup of these patients, this disorder is usually considered benign, not requiring any intervention. We report the case of a man complaining of a palpable mass in his scrotum. We evaluated the patient using ultrasound, MRI and serum tumour marker level measurement. The patient was finally diagnosed with polyorchidism (three testes). For the management, we recommended annual physical examination, US examination and serum tumour marker level measurement.     

Long-term results of four horizontal rectus muscle recession in nystagmus treatment

Purpose: To report the long-term results of four horizontal rectus muscle recessions that were performed for infantile nystagmus syndrome treatment.

Methods: In this case series, patients with infantile nystagmus syndrome who had four horizontal muscle recessions previously were recruited and ophthalmological examination and electronystagmography recordings were performed. Objectively, amplitude and frequency of nystagmus were measured from the recordings and the intensity was calculated. Visual acuity, stereopsis, and alignment were evaluated and compared with the preoperative and postoperative values.

Results: The records of the 12 patients who had four horizontal rectus muscle recession surgery were evaluated and six patients (5 male, 1 female) who had regular follow-ups were included in this study. Mean follow-up was 14.17?±?0.41 years (minimum 14 years, maximum 15 years) and mean age of patients at the last visit was 22 years (20-28 years). On subjective evaluation, two-thirds (4/6) of the patients were satisfied with the surgical results and had the impression that after surgery, nystagmus decreased in intensity and head posture improved. On objective evaluation, visual acuity was found to be the same, however, stereopsis improved (preoperatively and postoperatively median stereopsis was 600?sec arc vs 200?sec arc final). The decrease in nystagmus amplitude and frequency was still maintained.

Conclusions: Nystagmus surgery on four horizontal rectus muscles has positive effects on binocular function and nystagmus parameters in the long-term follow-up. As we could not treat the primary pathology, the visual acuity was about the same but the decrease in nystagmus amplitude and frequency was still maintained with better stereopsis, and patient satisfaction.