The incidence and prevalence of crude and familial multiple sclerosis in Tehran, Iran in 2021.

Our registry-based cross-sectional study covered 27,508 PwMS in Tehran with a point incidence rate and prevalence of 7.87 and 194.62 per 100,000 in 2021, respectively. We found that the incidence and prevalence of MS in Tehran are still on an upward trend which requires general attention and measures to overcome. The proportion of men with a family history of MS was significantly higher. Whilst IMSS deals with economic difficulties, it continues to collect new PwMS to reach regional-level coverage in Tehran for better MS care services.

Post-LASIK dry eye disease: A comprehensive review of management and current treatment options.

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is a unique corneal stromal laser ablation method that uses an excimer laser to reach beneath corneal dome-shaped tissues. In contrast, surface ablation methods, such as photorefractive keratectomy, include removing epithelium and cutting off the Bowman's layer and the stromal tissue of the anterior corneal surface. Dry eye disease (DED) is the most common complication after LASIK. DED is a typical multi-factor disorder of the tear function and ocular surface that occurs when the eyes fail to produce efficient or adequate volumes of tears to moisturize the eyes. DED influences quality of life and visual perception, as symptoms often interfere with daily activities such as reading, writing, or using video display monitors. Generally, DED brings about discomfort, symptoms of visual disturbance, focal or global tear film instability with possible harm to the ocular surface, the increased osmolarity of the tear film, and subacute inflammation of the ocular surface. Almost all patients develop a degree of dryness in the postoperative period. Detection of preoperative DED and committed examination and treatment in the preoperative period, and continuing treatments postoperatively lead to rapid healing, fewer complications, and improved visual outcomes. To improve patient comfort and surgical outcomes, early treatment is required. Therefore, in this study, we aim to comprehensively review studies on the management and current treatment options for post-LASIK DED.

Changes in sexual activities, function, and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic era: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Little is known about the impact of the coronavirus on sexual behavior, function, and satisfaction. Aim: The aim of the present study was to systematically review people's sexual function and behaviors and their changes in sexual activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Comprehensive searches in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were conducted with keywords in accordance with MeSH terms: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, sexual health, sexual function, sexual dysfunctions, sexuality, sexual orientation, sexual activities, and premarital sex. Two reviewers independently assessed full-text articles according to predefined criteria: original design, English studies, and investigating either the general population or sexual minorities. Results: Risk of bias in the studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and data were pooled via random effects meta-analyses. We utilized the standardized mean difference to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual activity, functioning, and satisfaction. We included 19 studies in the analysis and 11 studies in the meta-analysis, with a sample size of 12 350. To investigate sexual activity changes, a sample size of 8838 was entered into the subgroup analysis, which showed a significant decrease in both genders (5821 women, P < .033; 3017 men, P < .008). A subgroup meta-analysis showed that the sexual function of men and women during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly declined (3974 women, P < .001; 1427 men, P < .001). Sexual desire and arousal decreased in both genders, though mainly in women. In investigating sexual satisfaction changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, a meta-analysis with a sample size of 2711 showed a significant decrease (P < .001). The most indicative changes in sexual behaviors during the pandemic were the increase in masturbating and usage of sex toys. Greater COVID-19 knowledge was associated with lower masturbation, oral sex, and vaginal sex. The more protective behaviors were associated with less hugging, kissing, cuddling, genital touching, watching porn with a partner, and vaginal sex. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased challenges and changes for individuals' sexual behaviors. Efforts for preventive strategies should therefore be concentrated between pandemics, while ensuring that there is information available to the population during a pandemic for help in times of psychological distress or crisis.

Influence of hormones in multiple sclerosis: focus on the most important hormones.

Hormonal imbalance may be an important factor in the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease. In this context, hormone therapy has been shown to have immunoregulatory potential in various experimental approaches. There is increasing evidence of potentially beneficial effects of thyroid, melatonin, and sex hormones in MS models. These hormones may ameliorate the neurological impairment through immunoregulatory and neuroprotective effects, as well as by reducing oxidative stress. Expanding our knowledge of hormone therapy may be an effective step toward identifying additional molecular/cellular pathways in MS disease. In this review, we discuss the role of several important hormones in MS pathogenesis in terms of their effects on immunoregulatory aspects and neuroprotection.

Global assessment of characteristics of multiple sclerosis registries; A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Developing a multiple sclerosis (MS) registry system in some countries has helped to recognize better and monitor the disease. This study was aimed to compare global characteristics of MS registries and promote and update the national MS registry in Iran (NMSRI). METHODS: This systematic review was conducted through searching Embase® Scopus, Medline®, Conference Proceeding Citation Index and Google Scholar. Two distinct researchers defined the research question and appropriate keywords. The extracted articles passed through two screening filters. The remaining articles were scanned full-text and included in this study. The bias assessment was conducted through in a score between 0 and 9 and articles with a score of five and above were included in the final analysis according to methodological development and reporting of review approach. RESULTS: We found 1498 articles after the primary search, of which 26 articles were included in this study after removing 55 duplicate articles, 1367 irrelevant articles, six non-English articles, and 44 non-eligible articles. Fourteen MS registries from 12 countries were compared to each other in the context of goal, data collection, funding, quality control, and governance. MS registries majorly follow the evaluation of epidemiologic and treatments characteristics of MS patients, and usually established by national organizations and MS associations. MS registries in European nations are developed earlier than NMSRI; although, it have promising properties in regard to goal, data collection, quality control, and governance in comparison to other MS registries. CONCLUSION: The MS registry systems developed from 1956 in European countries for improving quality of care of subjects. We found that the NMSRI has used previous experiences well and has achieved promising properties equal to European countries. Financial challenges should be addressed to improve this registry in the following years.