Nazanin-Zeinab Hajmolarezaee; Mohammadhossein Taherynejad; Hassan Mehrad-Majd; Ali Moradi; Yalda Ravanshad; Amirreza Rostami; Salman Farsi; Sara Movahed; Sahar Ravanshad
Abstract
BackgroundLow back pain is a common reason for disability in patients younger than 45 years old who visit physicians. Although there are many attitudes toward treating back pain, there is no commonly accepted approach. This study compared various attitudes toward the examination, diagnosis, and treatment ...
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BackgroundLow back pain is a common reason for disability in patients younger than 45 years old who visit physicians. Although there are many attitudes toward treating back pain, there is no commonly accepted approach. This study compared various attitudes toward the examination, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic low back pain among neurologists, neurosurgeons, and orthopedic surgeons. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, a checklist including four main aspects of history taking, clinical and para-clinical tests, and treatment of chronic low back pain was designed to be completed by 45 specialists (orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and neurologists). Results Straight Leg Raising (SLR) was the most frequent test during the examination process. The high priorities among the para-clinics were MRI, lumbosacral graph, EMG-NCV, serology lab test, and CT scan, respectively. A significant difference was found in requesting lumbosacral graph among specialties. Moreover, the priorities for nonsurgical treatment were NSAIDs, nonpharmaceutical treatment, muscle relaxants, gabapentin, and corticosteroids, respectively. ConclusionHistory taking, physical examination, diagnostic approaches, and treatments were significantly different among the different specialties. The results revealed the need for consensus on common and well-established guidelines for a clinical approach to chronic low back pain.
Nasrin Moazzen; Fatemeh Shahrahmani; Yalda Ravanshad; anoush azarfar
Abstract
Background: Concern over male infertility has grown, with over half of infertility cases linked to male causes. The effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) from mobile phones on sperm DNA fragmentation has been investigated. This mini-review evaluates literature on the correlation ...
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Background: Concern over male infertility has grown, with over half of infertility cases linked to male causes. The effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) from mobile phones on sperm DNA fragmentation has been investigated. This mini-review evaluates literature on the correlation between RF-EMR and sperm DNA fragmentation.Methods: A systematic review was conducted using Google Scholar and PubMed databases up to July 2020. MeSH terms related to DNA fragmentation, sperm, mobile phones, radiofrequency, and related synonyms identified relevant studies. Nine studies were selected, and their methodologies examined.Results: The studies reviewed presented diverse findings on the correlation between RF-EMR from mobile phones and sperm DNA fragmentation. Of the nine investigations—five in vitro and four in vivo—all in vivo studies found significant DNA fragmentation in men who used their phones extensively, especially when carried in pants pockets. Three of the five in vitro tests showed a substantial effect, while the other two found no significant change between exposed and unexposed samples.Conclusion: Although more studies reported decreased sperm quality with prolonged and intense RF-EMR exposure, the evidence regarding DNA fragmentation remains inconclusive. With the widespread use of mobile phones, it is critical to further investigate their potential impact on male fertility and reproductive health. Existing evidence underscores the need for continued research in this area.