Background: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune vesiculobullous mucocutaneous disease with life-threatening consequences. Rituximab (RTX) has recently emerged as an effective treatment for PV. Objectives: This study aims to determine changes in neutrophil and platelet counts for PV patients treated with RTX or corticosteroids combined with Imuran (azathioprine). Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology at Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. Thirty PV patients received two types of treatment: 15 patients were administered RTX and 15 patients took corticosteroids with Imuran (azathioprine). Neutrophil and platelet counts were detected at the hospital laboratory. Results: The age range of PV patients was 27–67 years, and the mean ±SD was 44.866 ± 10.979 years for the patient group treated with RTX and 44.133 ± 11.519 for the patient group treated with corticosteroids and Imuran. In patients treated with RTX, 26.6% were males and 73.33% were females, with a female-to-male ratio of 2.75:1. In patients treated with corticosteroids with Imuran, 40% were males and 60% were females, with a female-to-male ratio of 1.5:1. The results revealed that among patients treated with RTX, 30% of them had mucocutaneous lesions, 6.66% had oral lesions, and 13.33% had cutaneous lesions. Among the other groups treated with corticosteroids and Imuran, 23.33% had mucocutaneous lesions, 13.33% had oral lesions, and 13.33% had cutaneous lesions. Among the patients treated with RTX, 53.33% had normal range of neutrophil count, while 46.6% had neutrophil count above the NR, while in patients treated with corticosteroids and Imuran, 40% had a normal range and 60% had above the normal range. Conclusion: RTX was a more effective treatment compared to corticosteroids with Imuran because no patient remained in an active state during this study. PV was prevalent in females aged 40 years with mucocutaneous lesions.
Background: The use of Miswak, chewing sticks (salvadorapersica) can be traced back to Babylonians some 7000 years ago. It is commonly used throughout the world especially for the purpose of oral hygiene. Muslims are using as the religious view. Current study aimed to test the ability of aqueous siwak extract to increase the resistance of enamel surface against acid dissolution compared to sodium fluoride. Materials and Method: Twenty maxillary first premolars were treated with the selected solutions included two aqueous siwak extract concentration(5%,10%) and sodium fluoride(0.05%)as control positive for 2 minutes once daily for 20days interval, de ionized water was used as control negative. The concentration of the dissolved phosphorus i
... Show MoreBackground: Dental implant surface technologies have been evolving rapidly to enhance a more rapid bone formation on their surface and improve implant therapy.Implant threads should be designed to increase surface contact areathat induced better stability. In addition, implant surface coating with Flaxseed was used to enhance bone formation at the bone-implant interface. Materials and methods: Ninety-six commercially pure titanium (CpTi) screws were implanted in rabbits' tibiae and divided into three groups as dual-threaded group, flaxseed-coated group and control group. All groups were evaluated mechanically, histologically and radiographically after each healing periods (2, 4, 6 and 8) weeks and the resulting data were statistically analy
... Show MoreCombination therapy with a dipeptidyl peptidase–4 inhibitor and metformin or metformin+ glibenclamide results in substantial and additive glucose- lowering effects in Iraqis patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus . This study evaluated the glycemic control by using two groups of combinations of drugs metformin + glibenclamide and metformin + sitagliptin in Baghdad teaching hospital / medical city. 68 T2DM patients and 34 normal healthy individuals as control group were enrolled in this study and categorized in to two treatment groups. The group 1 (34 patients ) received ( metformin 500 mg three times daily + glibenclamide 5 mg twice daily ) and the group 2 (34 patients) received (metformin 500 mg three times daily + sitaglip
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to examine the concordance between FISH/CISH techniques for assessment of amplification of her2neu gene in Iraqi breast carcinoma patients. Seventy four (74) Iraqi breast cancer patients were involved at the study from the Histopathology Department at the Central Public Health Laboratory in Bagdad, Iraq. Amplification of HER2neu was detected in (33.8%) by fluorescence in situ hybridization and (13.51%) showed high amplification by chromogenic in situ hybridization and (32.43%) showed low amplification. The results of chromogenic in situ hybridization were significantly correlated with the results of two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization with the same tumors. In addition, the study involved the correlation betw
... Show MoreThis study was aimed to reduce the amount of the sprayed solution lost during trees spraying. At the same time, the concentration of the sprayed solution on the target (tree or bush) must be ensured and to find the best combination of treatments. Two factors controls the spraying process: (i) spraying speed (1.2 km/h, 2.4 km/h, 3.6 km/h), and (ii) the type of sensor. The test results showed a significant loss reduction percentage. It reached (6.05%, 5.39% and 2.05%) at the speed (1.2 km/h, 2.4 km/h, 3.6 km/h), respectively. It was noticed that when the speed becomes higher the loss becomes less accordingly. The interaction between the 3.6 km/h speed and the type of Ultrasonic sensor led to a decrease in the percentage of the spray
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to evaluate the bottled water quality for the six-producing companies in Baghdad city, where selected six brands which are the most marketed in the Iraqi market, especially in Baghdad, where taking the proper amount of bottled water in September 2015 and included the studied characteristics (EC , pH ,TDS, Turbidity, Ca+2, Mg+2, Cl-, No3-, So4-2, HCO3-, Na+ and K+) in addition to the total population of bacteria aerobic and coliform, and compare the results with the standard specifications of the Iraqi and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as to compare the results of sampling specifications mentioned on the packaging by the producing companies. The results showed the presence of high significant differ
... Show MoreBackground: Lymphomas are group of diseases caused by malignant lymphocytes that accumulate in lymph nodes and caused the characteristics lymphadenopathy. Occasionally, they may spill over into blood or infiltrate organs outside the lymphoid tissue. The major subdivision of lymphomas is into Hodgkin lymphoma and non–Hodgkin lymphoma and this is based on the histologic presence of Reed-Sternberg cells in Hodgkin lymphoma. Salivary immunoglobulin A is the prominent immunoglobulin and is considered to be the main specific defense mechanism in oral cavity. The aim of this study was to determine the level of salivary immunoglobulin A in lymphoma patients before and after chemotherapy treatment. Subjects, materials and methods: The study i
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