Background: Pleural effusion is a common clinical
problem.
Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the
diagnostic utility of Carcino embryonic antigen
(CEA), CA 15- 3, and alpha-feto protein ( AFP ) as
a tumor markers in serum and pleural effusion and
evaluate the value of combining them as a diagnostic
tools that are complementary to cytology in the
diagnosis of malignancies .
Methods: Forty patients (18 malignant and 22 benign
pleural effusion) were included in this study .The
serum and effusion levels of CEA, CA 15 – 3 and
AFP were measured using immunoradiometric assay
Results: from the 40 effusions studied 26 were
exudates and 14 were transudates. The level of
pleural effusions
The clinical response to natalizumab in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be significantly influenced by genetic variation. Mutations in genes related to the drug’s mechanism of action or the pathological milieu of MS can contribute substantially to interindividual differences in treatment outcomes. This review aims to provide an overview of previous studies that have examined genetic polymorphisms associated with the clinical efficacy of natalizumab. A systematic literature search was conducted across the PubMed, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate databases using targeted keywords relevant to the subject matter. Several genetic loci were found to be linked to natalizumab responsiveness, including the integrin subunit alpha 4 (ITGA4
... Show MoreBackground: since December 2019, China and in particularly Wuhan, faced an unprecedented an outbreak challenge of coronavirus disease 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Clinical characteristics of Iraqi patients with COVID-19 and risk factors for mortality needed to be shared with the health care providers to improve the overall disease experience. Methods: prospective, single-center study recruited patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted to Al-Shifaa Isolation Center / Baghdad Medical City between the mid of March and the end of April 2020 until had been discharged or had died. Demographic data, information on clinical signs, symptoms, at presentation, treatment, have been collected
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Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with an increasing prevalence worldwide and characterized by an increase in oxidative stress and inflammation. The most important factor that is responsible for oxidative stress and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is hyperglycemia. The major targets of ROS are proteins. The most common and widely used biomarker of severe oxidative protein damage is protein carbonyl content.
The study was designed to assess the serum level of protein carbonyl as a marker of protein oxidation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and to evaluate the effect of age, body weight, waist circumference, diabetic control and disease duration on the level
... Show MoreOrthodontic treatment has two major problems: being lengthy and costly procedure. The present study was designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of locally injected vitamin D3 Keywords: Orthodontic, Calcitriol, Local injection, OTM (calcitriol) in accelerating orthodontic teeth movement (OTM) and reducing treatment time and cost in humans. The study was performed on 15 Iraqi adult orthodontic patients within the age range 17-28 years, they are randomly allocated into three groups, each of five patients and treated with either 15 pg, 25 pg, or 40 pg/0.2ml calcitriol diluted with 10% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). The maxillary arch of every patient was divided into control (right) and experimental (left) sides. In addition to force application,
... Show MoreSeventy of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates had been collected from some Hospitals in Baghdad city from October to December 2017. The 70 isolates were taken from diverse clinical specimens. All K. pneumoniae isolates were identified based on API 20 E and Vitek2 compact system. Antibiotics sensitivity test was carried out toward 10 antibiotics using discs diffusion method. The level of antibiotics resistance was 81.42% for Ceftriaxone, whereas the low level of antibiotics resistance was 37.14% for Piperacillin. K. pneumoniae isolates were typed genotypically by using two different methods of amplification, multiplex-PCR and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR typing methods. Results showed that out of 70 isolates, there
... Show MoreBackground: Osteoporosis is an extra-articular complication of rheumatoid arthritis that results in increased risk of fractures and associated morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Objective: To evaluate changes in bone mineral density in a sample of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients on biological (anti tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha) and non-biological agent disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Patients and Methods: A cross sectional study enrolled 60 RA patients diagnosed by rheumatologist according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (2010 ACR/EULAR) classification criteria for RA. Thirty patient on biological agent (anti TNF alpha) and 30 patient on non-biological agent (D
... Show MoreBackground: Mini implant stability is primarily related to local bone density; no studies have evaluated bone density related to mini implant placement for orthodontic anchorage between different age groups in the maxilla and the mandible. The present research aims to evaluate side, gender, age, and regional differences in bone density of the alveolar bone at various orthodontic implant sites. Materials and method: Fifty three individuals who were divided into two groups according to their age into: group I (ages 16-20 years) and group II (ages 21-29 years) had subjected to clinical examination, then 64-multislice computed tomography scan data were evaluated and bone density was measured in Hounsfield unit at 102 points (51 in the maxilla
... Show MoreBackground: Currently there are four general approaches to correct refractive errors: refractive corneal surgery, crystalline lens surgery and implantation of an intraocular lens in anterior or posterior chamber. Aim: To evaluate the predictability, safety and stability of toric phakic implantable collamer lens implantation to correct moderate to high myopic astigmatism. Methods: Sixty eyes of 40 patients underwent implantation of a toric implantable collamer lens (V4c design) in the Eye Specialty Private Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq were studied. The mean spherical refraction was -11.32±3.17 diopter (D) with a range of -6.00 to -18.00 D and a mean cylinder of -2.61±1.16 with range of -1.00 to -5.50 D. The outcome measures that evaluat
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