Fateme Alipour

BACKGROUND: To report the study protocol, methodology and latest enrollment data of a large epidemiological multi-central eye cohort named PERSIAN Eye Cohort Study (PECS), originating from the ongoing PERSIAN Cohort Study, to investigate the distribution of ophthalmic disorders in different regions and ethnicities of Iran, and determine their associations with various exposures of ophthalmic and non-ophthalmic nature. METHODS: A central committee designed the study and equipped six chosen centers (Khameneh, Some'e Sara, Hoveizeh, Yazd, Rafsanjan and Zahedan)...

Proper understanding of the optical function of the eye is the foundation of clinical understanding of ophthalmologists. Although teaching principals of optics has always been a part of ophthalmology residency curriculum, it seems that successful strategies other than lecture-based methods are needed to engage students and facilitate the understanding of optical principals. A collaborative team of physicists (optics Ph.D.), ophthalmologists and medical education experts designed an optics lab for ophthalmology residents to help them practically simulate different optical phenomena...

According to World Health Organization (WHO), currently, 2.2 billion people are living with visual impairment worldwide, of which almost half could have been prevented. There are both modifiable and unmodifiable factors leading to visual disability and, ultimately, blindness. Several population-based studies in different parts of Iran have tried to determine these factors concerning their specific population and environment-related characteristics. AZAR Eye and Vision cohort is the second-largest cohort study in the whole country...

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the mare's milk has been introduced as a rich source of nutrients with hypoallergic characteristics which is widely used for Iranian infants. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate the heavy metal concentration of mare's milk and its consumption risk assessment. METHODS: About 88 mare's milk was collected from Yazd, the centre of Iran, during the summer of 2020. The raw mare's milk was digested and analysed for mineral and heavy metal content (As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb and Zn) by ICP-OES...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare outcomes between cases of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) diagnosed and treated with or without the use of in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM). METHODS: We performed a retrospective comparative case series of 26 eyes of 23 patients diagnosed with AK at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary over a 5-year period. The characteristics of all identified cases were summarized. We compared the time from presentation to diagnosis of AK (primary outcome), visual acuity, and rates of therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty between eyes diagnosed by culture-only group (n = 8) and by IVCM to diagnose AK (n = 9) and later confirmed by culture (IVCM/C group)...

BACKGROUND: Cancer imposes a significant economic burden on the health system and society. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the third deadliest leukemia and is one of the leading health problems worldwide. The present study aimed to estimate the economic burden of AML in Iran for 2020. METHODS: In this study, we estimated a prevalence-based on the cost-of-illness of the AML in Iran. A societal perspective was considered, in which the direct costs and productivity losses with the adoption of the human capital approach in the AML cases were estimated for 2020...

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a multi-primary healthcare facilities-based DR screening project by analyzing single-field fundus photographs among patients with diabetes in Rafsanjan City, Iran, based on the Rafsanjan Cohort Study, as a part of the prospective epidemiological research studies in IrAN (PERSIAN). METHODS: Of all participants in the Rafsanjan Cohort Study (performed in four primary healthcare facilities across Rafsanjan City from August 2015 to December 2017), patients with diabetes were recruited in this study...

BACKGROUND: Uncorrected refractive error (RE) may affect the work performance of adults in the workplace. The aim of current study was to determine the prevalence of corrected and uncorrected RE, and the determinants of uncorrected RE in adult employees of a university. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of Tehran University Medical Sciences' staff. Besides demographic and some specific questionnaires, ophthalmic examinations including the measurement of uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best spectacles corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and presenting visual acuity were performed for all participants...

Inflammation is implicated in the development and progression of a variety of cardiovascular diseases. We hypothesized that the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) is associated with anthropometric indices and metabolic parameters in Iranian atherosclerosis patients. The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 320 Iranian atherosclerosis patients. The DII was estimated using a valid and reliable 168-item food frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were evaluated for anthropometric indices and metabolic parameters according to the DII score...

BACKGROUND: Lack of attention to end-users' requirements and preferences may lead to the failure of health information technology (IT) interventions. Identifying users' needs for designing a mobile application can lead to the development of an acceptable intervention. This study aimed to determine the requirements for designing a mobile application to educate and provide needed information to contact lens (CL) wearers. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted on 24 CL wearers and nine eye care practitioners from the three CL clinics in Iran...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Congenital cataract is a condition compromising the eye's crystalline lens in infants and is usually diagnosed at birth. It can lead to irreversible vision loss if not promptly detected and treated, especially in unilateral cases. Nowadays, children with congenital cataracts can undergo surgical removal of their opacified crystalline lenses, and visual rehabilitation is mandatory to prevent deep amblyopia. Contact lenses, predominantly of rigid gas-permeable (GP) type, are gaining more popularity for this matter...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential role of different types of contact lenses, such as soft (SCL), hard (HCL), and mini scleral (SCCL), in corneal epithelial thickness with anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, patients who used contact lens at recent 6 months were recruited consecutively from September 2019 to October 2019, and the epithelial thicknesses of the cornea were obtained by AS-OCT and compared with control subjects who did not use contact lens...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the visual, refractive, and topographic outcomes of accelerated corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) in the pediatric age group. METHODS: In this retrospective case series study, 89 eyes of 56 patients with progressive keratoconus (KCN) who were under or equal to 18 years old at the time of surgery were included. All patients underwent accelerated corneal CXL. A thorough baseline and follow-up ophthalmic examination including uncorrected distance visual acuity, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit-lamp and fundus examination, and corneal tomography by Scheimpflg camera Pentacam (Oculus, Wetzlar, Germany) were performed...

BACKGROUND: Designing educational interventions tailored to the needs of Contact Lens Wearers (CLWs) are important and necessary. The present study aimed to determine the information needs of CLWs to educate and provide information to them to increase their knowledge and reduce complications and non-compliance behaviors. METHODS: A qualitative approach was applied and semi-structured interviews were conducted in three contact lenses (CL) clinics in Iran among all their practitioners and 24 purposively selected patients...

PURPOSE: To compare intraocular pressure (IOP) values measured by ocular response analyzer (ORA) in contact lens-induced corneal warpage, normal, and keratoconic eyes. METHODS: In a prospective, observational case-control study, 94 eyes of 47 warpage-suspected cases and 46 eyes of 23 keratoconic patients were enrolled. Warpage-suspected cases were followed until a definite diagnosis was made (warpage, nonwarpage normal, or keratoconus). ORA tonometry and corneal biomechanics testing were performed for all cases in each visit...

OBJECTIVE: To report indications, fitting feasibility, and safety of miniscleral design (MSD) lenses in children. METHODS: Medical records of patients aged <18 years at the time of referral to Contact Lens Clinic of Farabi Eye Hospital, because of inadequate spectacle-corrected visual acuity, rigid gas-permeable or soft contact lens intolerance, and ocular surface disease were reviewed. Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), best-corrected vision with the lens (CCVA), lens parameters, and comfortable daily wearing time (CDWT) were documented...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the corneal topographic patterns in an adult Iranian population and investigate its correlation with the refractive status of the eye. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study named "Tehran Study," 1023 samples were selected by the cluster sampling method from the downtown area of Tehran. Eight hundred and forty-nine adults aged over 15 years participated. All selected participants were refracted and underwent topography imaging. RESULTS: The patients' ages ranged from 15 to 91 years with a mean of 40...

Professional behavior with patients and interactions with colleagues, the institution and professional bodies are influenced by many factors. The purpose of this manuscript is to clarify those personal factors affecting medical professionalism in clinical settings affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences. For this purpose, a qualitative study was carried out. One hundred and eighty-two participants were recruited through purposive sampling of clinical staff, physicians, and medical students in Tehran...

BACKGROUND: Observing professional behavior in clinical settings encounters many obstacles. In this research, the effect of defects of the educational system in observing professional behavior in clinical settings of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) has been investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative content analysis study was conducted using focused group discussions in TUMS. Twenty-two focused group discussions with 182 faculty members, medical students, and clinical staff were conducted...