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  ABSTRACT

  Background and Aim : Low back pain (LBP) & lumbar radiculopathy are among the most common causes of referral to the clinics especially in persons between 20-50 years old. The most important cause of the LBP is discal herniation which can be diagnosed by means of MRI. Cultural and occupational differences together with different life styles in different areas influence the pattern and prevalence of the disease. Therefore, determination of the prevalence of the properly diagnosed cases in different time periods can be valuable and have a beneficial role in health care recommendations.

  Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which included all non-operated patients referring to Kurdistan MRI Center that had a lumbar MRI without contrast, in a period of 6 months between April 2006 and September 2006. Sampling method was census. All the MRIs were reported by the same physician and the locations and severity of discal herination were determined. Demographic data, chief complaint, and duration of the symptoms were recorded in a questionnaire for each of the patients. The data were analyzed by means of statistical tests.

  Results: Of the 2210 Lumbar MRI, 1988 cases met the criteria for enrollment. 50.4% of the cases were women and the rest of them were men. The mean age of the patients was 41.69±13.85 years that most of them were between 36 to 45 years of age. The disease was more common in office workers and housewives. The most common herniation stages encountered, were bulging & protrusion of discs. The discal herniation prevalence was 7.87%. Generally 87.7% of the patients had some degree of herniation. The mean age of the patients with hernia was higher than those of the patients without this problem (p=0.000). Women compared to men had a higher mean age (p=0.000) & the severity of the hernia got worse by increasing age (p=0.000).

Conclusion: MRI is a good modality for the assessment of the patients with LBP with doubtful diagnosis of discal hernia. The prevalence of the discal herniation is high in Kurdistan province. Adoption of policies toward public health care education to prevent verteberal column diseases seems to be necessary

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Background and Aim: Selenium as an antioxidant is essential for normal function of testis and spermatogenesis. It can reduce formation of free oxygen radicals and as a result it is expected to improve male fertility. The aim of this study was to evaluate alterations in antioxidant capacity of old rats sperms after prescription of 0.2 mg/kg of Selenium. Materials and Methods: In this study, 15 old male rats of 10-12 months of age and 15 adult male rats of 2-3 months of age were randomly divided into three groups: control, sham and experimental groups. Control group did not receive any treatment sham group rats received intra peritoneal injections of equal volume of Selenium solvents (normal saline) as Selenium in experimental group. Experimental groups of male rats received daily intraperitoneal injection of Selenium (0.2 mg/kg) for 5 weeks. After 42 days from initiation of injection, the rats were killed by cervical dislocation and after obtaining sperm, total antioxidant capacity of the sperms was measured by FRAP assay. The absorbance of TPTZ-Fe+2 was read at 593 nm by spectrophotometery. For the statistical analysis, SPSS software was used and data analysis was performed by means of Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Withney U tests. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Results of this study showed significant differences in mean values of total antioxidant capacity in both old and adult rats in experimental and control groups (P<0.05). Also comparison of mean values of antioxidant capacity of sperm solution in adult and old control groups showed a significant difference (742.26±1.06 vs. 672.061±0.78 respectively) (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Selenium treatment in old rats (0.2 mg/kg after 35 days) can improve total antioxidant capacity of the sperms of old rats. Regarding low levels of antioxidants in old rats, it can be suggested oxidative stress can result in diminution of antioxidant levels. Therefore antioxidant therapy could be considered as a method for improvement of the quality of sperms of old men. Conflict of Interest: Nill Received: Sep 15, 2008 Accepted: May 31, 2009