AI-based model for automatic identification of multiple sclerosis based on enhanced sea-horse optimizer and MRI scans.

This study aims to develop an AI-enhanced methodology for the expedited and accurate diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic disease affecting the central nervous system leading to progressive impairment. Traditional diagnostic methods are slow and require substantial expertise, underscoring the need for innovative solutions. Our approach involves two phases: initially, extracting features from brain MRI images using first-order histograms, the gray level co-occurrence matrix, and local binary patterns. A unique feature selection technique combining the Sine Cosine Algorithm with the Sea-horse Optimizer is then employed to identify the most significant features. Utilizing the eHealth lab dataset, which includes images from 38 MS patients (mean age 34.1 ± 10.5 years; 17 males, 21 females) and matched healthy controls, our model achieved a remarkable 97.97% detection accuracy using the k-nearest neighbors classifier. Further validation on a larger dataset containing 262 MS cases (199 females, 63 males; mean age 31.26 ± 10.34 years) and 163 healthy individuals (109 females, 54 males; mean age 32.35 ± 10.30 years) demonstrated a 92.94% accuracy for FLAIR images and 91.25% for T2-weighted images with the Random Forest classifier, outperforming existing MS detection methods. These results highlight the potential of the proposed technique as a clinical decision-making tool for the early identification and management of MS.

Sonographic prediction of fetal main pulmonary artery (MPA) Doppler indices of lung maturity and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) development.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to highlight the predictive role of perinatal fetal main pulmonary artery (MPA) Doppler measurements in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome development. Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is one of the lead causes of neonatal respiratory distress as well as neonatal death. Thus, it seems logic to evaluate fetal lung maturity before labour. METHODS: The study is a prospective cohort study performed in tertiary hospital over a period of one-year duration. 70 pregnant ladies between 34 and 38 weeks of gestation were referred for fetal echo, when pregnancy was considered a high risk. A trained radiologist using dedicated ultrasound machine with updated obstetric and fetal echo software performed the fetal echo. Doppler mode and curvilinear probe of 5.7 MHz transducer. Pediatric neonatologist observed the neonatal outcome post-natally. RESULTS: A total of 70 pregnant patients with risk factors underwent fetal echo, 26/70 (37.1%) were diagnosed with RDS conforming to the neonatal criteria. The mean acceleration time/ejection time ratio (At/Et ratio) of the fetal pulmonary artery was significantly reduced in fetuses that subsequently developed RDS than those without RDS. Contrarily, the mean pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), and peak systolic velocity (PSV) of the fetal pulmonary artery were significantly high in fetuses who later developed RDS than in those who did not. CONCLUSION: Fetal MPA Doppler measurements have a major role in anticipating the development of neonatal RDS in preterm and early term neonates.

Cardiac calcium score in systemic sclerosis.

Cardiac coronary Ca score (CCS), and extra coronary Ca score (ECCS) estimation in asymptomatic systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients and their relation to different disease and patients' variables. The CCS and ECCS were estimated in asymptomatic 20 SSc patients compared to 20 age and sex-matched healthy control using non-contrast cardiac computed tomography. All were applied for cardiac history taking, examination, echocardiography, body mass index (BMI), complete blood picture, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and lipid profile estimation. The SSc patients were 11 females and 9 males with a mean age of (42.55 ± 9.145) and mean disease duration (12.9 ± 6.774). CCS was reported in 9 (45%) SSc cases and 2 (10%) of the control; (p = 0.013) and was significantly greater in SSc patients (58.4 ± 175.443) than in the control group (0.7 ± 2.25); (p = 0.01). The ECCS was significantly higher in SSc cases (194.45 ± 586.511) than control group (2.8 ± 7.8); (p = 0.001) and reported in 16 (80%) SSc cases and 3 (15%) of controls; (p = 0.000). Limited scleroderma cases had higher scores than diffuse type. Patients with total ca score (> 100) were older (p = 0.016), had longer disease duration (p = 0.001) and greater BMI (p = 0.002). Significant correlation was found between the log-transformed CCS and disease duration, age, BMI, left ventricular mass, and mass index. Systemic sclerosis patients are at increased risk of subclinical cardiovascular disease determined by cardiac Ca scoring as a noninvasive and reliable method. Extra coronary calcification may be an earlier indicator for this. Disease duration is a determinant risk factor for cardiac calcification in SSc. Key Points • Although the association between interleukin-6 (IL-6) promoter polymorphism and rheumatic arthritis (RA) has been discussed in the previous meta-analysis, their conclusions are inconsistent. • Systemic sclerosis patients are at high risk of accelerated atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Coronary atherosclerosis was previously estimated in SSc patients through coronary angiography. A novel method of assessing coronary artery disease is the coronary calcium score, as determined by multidetector computed tomography, it measures coronary artery calcification that occurs in atherosclerotic plaque. In this study, the cardiac coronary and extra coronary Ca score were evaluated in relation to disease characteristics in asymptomatic SSC patients for early detection of coronary artery disease.