We experienced 5 cases of diffuse lamellar keratitis or Sands of the Sahara syndrome, which have not been reported in Korea. Patients complained of blurred vision or ocular discomfort 1 or 2 days after LASIK. They showed diffuse infiltrates confined to the flap interface with no posterior or anterior extension and had no anterior chamber reaction. The diffuse infiltrates responded well to steroid or antibiotic/steroid eyedrops showing diminution of infiltrates within 3 to 4 days of therapy. The best corrective visual acuities were 0.8 to 1. 0 around 1 month after surgery.
Africa, Northern* ; Anterior Chamber ; Humans ; Keratitis ; Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ ; Korea ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Silicon Dioxide* ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: Proper nutrition is essential for brain development during infancy, contributing to the continued development of cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional skills throughout life. Considering the insufficient published data in the Middle East and North Africa, experts drafted a questionnaire to assess the opinions and knowledge of physicians on the impact of nutrition on brain development and cognition in early life. METHODS: The questionnaire consisted of two parts: The first focused on the responders' demographic and professional characteristics and the second questioned the role of nutrition in brain development and cognition. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize respondents' characteristics and their responses to questions. RESULTS: A total of 1,500 questionnaires were distributed; 994 physicians responded. The majority of the surveyed physicians (64.4%) felt that nutrition impacts brain development in early childhood (0–4 years), with almost 90% of physicians agreeing/strongly agreeing that preventing iron, zinc, and iodine deficiency would improve global intelligence quotient. The majority of physicians (83%) agreed that head circumference was the most important measure of brain development. The majority of physicians (68.9%) responded that the period from the last trimester until 18 months postdelivery was crucial for brain growth and neurodevelopment, with 76.8% believing that infants breast-fed by vegan mothers have an increased risk of impaired brain development. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that practicing physicians significantly agree that nutrition plays an important role in brain and cognitive development and function in early childhood, particularly during the last trimester until 18 months postdelivery.
Africa ; Africa, Northern ; Brain ; Cognition ; Female ; Head ; Humans ; Infant ; Intelligence ; Iodine ; Iron ; Middle East ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Vegans ; Zinc

PURPOSE: This study was retrospectively conducted to evaluate the clinical results of consecutive 167 myopic eyes of 117 patients undergoing laser in situ keratomileusis(LASIK) for myopia with either of the two excimer lasers, which differ in the method of laser delivery: flying spot scanning versus broad beam. METHODS: According to the laser used, the treated eyes were divided into two groups: Group I, 84 eyes of 58 patients with LaserScan LSX(R)(Lasersight Inc., USA); Group II, 83 eyes of 59 patients with OmniMed II(R)(Summit, USA). Each patient had been followed up for more than 6 months after surgery. Only single procedure outcomes were included. Mean preoperative spherical equivalents(SE) were -5.67+/-1.79 D(range:-1.50~-9.75 D) in group I and -6.40+/-1.79 D(range:-3.50~-9.75 D) in group II. RESULTS: At postoperative 6 months, mean uncorrected visual acuity increased to 0.94 in group I and 0.88 in group II. Uncorrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better occurred in 100% of group I and 96.4% of group II, and of 20/20 or better, in 57.2% and 48.2%, respectively. No eye in either group lost more than 1 line of best-corrected visual acuity. Mean SEs at postoperative 6 months were -0.28+/-0.50 D in group I and -0.55+/-0.60 D in group II(P<0.05). Manifest SEs were within +/-1.00 D in 97.6% of group I and 84.3% of group II, and +/-0.50 D in 73.8% and 60.2%, respectively. Intra- or postoperative complications were subconjunctival hemorrhage(4 eyes, group I; 5 eyes, group II), Sands of Sahara syndrome(7 eyes, group I; 5 eyes, group II), epithelial ingrowth(1 eye, group II only) and infectious keratitis(1 eye, group II only). No case had a central island or irregular astigmatism postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that LASIK using the LaserScan LSX(R)excimer effectively reduces myopia compared with OmniMed II(R). However, its predictability decreased as the attempted correction increased. LASIK for myopia less than -10 D with the LaserScan LSX(R)provided satisfactory refractive results that compare well with other reports in the literature.
Africa, Northern ; Astigmatism ; Diptera ; Humans ; Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ* ; Lasers, Excimer* ; Myopia ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Silicon Dioxide ; Visual Acuity

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.
Africa, Northern ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; China ; Drug Users ; Europe, Eastern ; Expert Testimony ; Far East ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Japan ; Male ; Methamphetamine ; Methods ; Middle East ; Sex Workers ; Ukraine

OBJECTIVES: Plague remains a public health concern worldwide, particularly in old foci. Multiple epidemics of this disease have been recorded throughout the history of Iran. Despite the long-standing history of human plague in Iran, it remains difficult to obtain an accurate overview of the history and current status of plague in Iran. METHODS: In this review, available data and reports on cases and outbreaks of human plague in the past and present in Iran and in neighboring countries were collected, and information was compiled regarding when, where, and how many cases occurred. RESULTS: This paper considers the history of plague in Persia (the predecessor of today’s Iran) and has a brief review of plague in countries in the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region, including a range of countries in the Middle East and North Africa. CONCLUSIONS: Since Iran has experienced outbreaks of plague for several centuries, neighboring countries have reported the disease in recent years, the disease can be silent for decades, and the circulation of Yersinia pestis has been reported among rodents and dogs in western Iran, more attention should be paid to disease monitoring in areas with previously reported human cases and in high-risk regions with previous epizootic and enzootic activity.
Africa, Northern ; Animals ; Disease Outbreaks ; Dogs ; History of Medicine ; Humans ; Iran* ; Mediterranean Region ; Middle East ; Persia ; Plague* ; Public Health ; Rodentia ; World Health Organization ; Yersinia pestis

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.
Africa, Northern ; Bias (Epidemiology)* ; China ; Drug Users ; Europe, Eastern ; Expert Testimony ; Far East ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Japan ; Male ; Methamphetamine ; Methods* ; Middle East ; Sex Workers ; Ukraine

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a well known cardiovascular prognostic predictor. Osteoporosis has been suggested to be associated with cardiovascular disease. According to studies of primary hyperparathyroidism, a pathophysiological association between calcium metabolism and LVH has been suggested but is not yet fully understood. This study was performed to investigate the association between bone mineral density (BMD) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in a general population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data from 460 subjects among 543 subjects sampled from a general population in a rural area in Korea were analyzed. BMD, echocardiography, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) measurement as well as the measurements of blood pressure, blood chemistry and metabolic parameters were analyzed. BMD was measured using the Sahara Clinical Bone Sonometer (Hologic Inc., Mass., USA). RESULTS: Age of the subjects was 59.4+/-12.4 years. Males were 42.2% (n=194). In a simple correlation analysis on female subjects, age and waist circumference showed negative correlation, and body mass index (BMI) showed positive correlation with BMD. However, only age showed negative correlation with BMD in male subjects. After adjusting baPWV and carotid IMT, we found that BMD was an independent determinant of LVMI in female subjects (beta=-13.703, p=0.016), but not in male subjects (beta=-1.235, p=0.841). CONCLUSION: BMD is a consistent and independent determining factor of LVMI, BMI and carotid IMT in postmenopausal women.
Africa, Northern ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Bone Density ; Calcium ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hyperparathyroidism, Primary ; Hypertrophy ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Korea ; Male ; Osteoporosis ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Waist Circumference