zohreh chiti

Context: Pelvic masses are a prevalent cause for referral to gynecologic oncology departments to evaluate the possibility of benign or malignant conditions. Pelvic mass often was found in pelvic examinations among females with ovarian. Tumor markers are advantageous biomarker in tumor diagnosis. Evidence Acquisition: We performed a computerized search in Medline/PubMed databases and Google Scholar with key words: “Cancer antigen 125 (CA125), Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), risk of ovarian malignancy algorithm (ROMA), Risk of malignancy index (RMI), and Pelvic mass”. The usage of tumor marker CA125 alone is associated with serious limitations like low sensitivity for early or stage I disease and lack of specificity especially in pre-menopausal women. Serum HE4 is a good biomarker for discriminating ovarian cancer from benign pelvic disease, but could be affected by several factors including pregnancy, age, and smoking. ROMA has a high sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value to predict the presence of ovarian cancer in women with a pelvic mass. RMI could differentiate between benign and malignant pelvic masses, but RMI expression was higher in women with 55 years or more. According to the results of this study, combination of these biomarkers or at least 2 or 3 biomarkers are suggested for early stage diagnosis of pelvic mass with high sensitivity and specificity.

: To evaluate the relationship between serum level of testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin in men with type 2 diabetes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this case-control study, forty men aged 40-70 with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomly selected and compared with 40 non-diabetic men. The two groups were matched for their age and BMI. After complete observation and examination, fasting blood sugar, postprandial blood sugar, total and free testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin and HbA1c were measured.
The mean serum level of total testosterone was 9.65 ± 2.16 mg/dl in diabetic patients and 12.77 ± 3 mg/dl in non-diabetic subjects which was significantly different (P = 0.0001). The mean value of free serum level of testosterone was significantly higher in non-diabetic group (14.96 ± 4.97 mg/dl) in comparison with diabetic group (9.55 ± 8.14 mg/dl, P = 0.0001).
In this study we found a lower level of total testosterone, free testosterone, and in lesser extent sex hormone-binding globulin in men with type 2 diabetes comparing to non-diabetic men.

: Diabetes mellitus has shown a tremendous health and social burden worldwide. Better glycemic control in patients with diabetes can be achieved by improving their knowledge which consequently will prevent developing microvascular and neurological complications. Some studies demonstrate effectiveness of Short Message Service (SMS) for patient education. Regarding exponential growth in mobile phone penetration and its text messaging service in Iran, we decided to evaluate effectiveness of sending SMS in improving knowledge of patients with type 2 diabetes in Yazd, Iran.
In this randomized controlled trial, 100 patients with messages were sent to the mobile phones of intervention group every other day using an Internet-based messaging system for 45 days. The control group just received the diabetes were randomly allocated into Intervention Group or Control Group. Short invitation messages for taking part in the study and a free physician visit. Knowledge of patients was assessed using a questionnaire with 20 multiple choice questions.
Eighty one patients (43 intervention group, 38 control group) concluded the study. Mean of correct answers in intervention group improved significantly (P < 0.001) from 7.92 to 11.51 after 45 days, while this difference was not significant in control group. Mean of incorrect answers decreased from 8.00 to 7.00 in intervention group, but it increased from 8.90 to 9.45 in control group. The change of mean score, before and after the intervention, was significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.001).
SMS is an effective means of conveying information to the patients with diabetes who own a mobile phone. Further studies are suggested to check whether this improvement in knowledge will lead to change in their attitude and/or practice.