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.
The study aimed to examine the phonological processing profile for students with and without reading disabilities in cycle 1 schools of basic education in the Governorate of Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The study participants included 306 students, 165 students with reading disabilities and 141 students without reading disabilities. The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) and Working Memory Test (WMT) were administered to the participants. The results of the study showed that the mean score of students without reading disabilities was higher than that of students of reading disabilities in all measures of phonological processing, and that there are statistically significant differences on the case of students in all
... Show MoreBackground :Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was a widely used marker for skeletal and hepatobiliary disorders, but its activity was also increased in atherosclerosis and peripheral vascular disease. Several study has showed that ALP activity was increased in the sera of diabetic patients. The current study was conducted to evaluate ALP activity in type 2 diabetic patients and optimum conditions for enzyme activity in their sera.Methods: This study was carried out at in AL-Yarmok hospital(diabetic center) between February /2009 and April /2009. Fifty two patients with type 2 diabetes have been enrolled. Besides BMI, WHR, serum fasting blood glucose, ALP, HbA1C,uric acid and lipid profile levels have been performed .The relationship bet
... Show MoreAnemia of chronic disease (ACD) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are the two most important types of anemia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Functional iron deficiency in ACD can be attributed to overexpression of the main iron regulatory hormone hepcidin leading to diversion of iron from the circulation into storage sites resulting in iron-restricted erythropoiesis. The aim is to investigate the role of circulating hepcidin and to uncover the frequency of IDA in RA. The study included 51 patients with RA. Complete blood counts, serum iron, total iron binding capacity, ferritin, and hepcidin- 25 were assessed. ACD was found in 37.3% of patients, IDA in 11.8%, and combined (ACD/IDA) in 17.6%. Serum hepcidin was higher in ACD than in con
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to look for the differences in the oxidative stress status in sera and saliva samples of type 2 diabetic Iraqi patients with and without proliferative diabetic retinopathy. As well as to look for the possibility whether this status can be measured in saliva as an alternative sample to that of serum, hence to achieve that total oxidant status, total antioxidant status and oxidative stress index were measured in both sera and saliva samples of two groups of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the healthy individuals. Upon the comparison between patients without proliferative diabetic retinopathy and the control sample the results showed presence of a significant increase (p < 0.05) of total oxidant st
... Show MoreBackground: Anemia is a common finding in patients with renal failure disease and it is, primarily, due to reduced production of iron and erythropoietin. Therefore, the aim of current study was to evaluate the relationship between serum level of hepcidin 25, on the one hand, and levels of serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, serum erythropoietin and transferrin saturation% in Iraqi male patients undrgoning haemodialysis.. Methods: Serum from75 males in the end stage of hemodialysis, as group one, and 25 Iraqi healthy malecontrols, as group two, were recruited in this study. Results: Data from current study showed significant increase in hepcidin 25 and significant decrease in serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, transferrin saturati
... Show MoreThe current work was designed to investigate serum angiopoietin like protein-8 and hyaluronic acid among Iraqi hemodialysis patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus, and to find relationship between them, as well as if these patients are at risk of kidney fibrosis. Subjects & Methods: in this study, serum samples were obtained from (60) Iraqis patients with end stage renal diseases (ESRD)on hemodialysis (HD) (30 patients with T2DM (G2) and 30 patients withoutT2DM (G3)) in addition to (30) healthy individuals as a control group (G1), their ages ranged from (35-65) years. The patients attended the Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, Baghdad. Results: the results in this study showed a highly a significant elevation inserum angiopoietin li
... Show MoreLevofloxacin belongs to the fluoroquinolone family; it is a potent broad-spectrum bactericidal agent. The pharmacophore required for significant antibacterial activity is the C-3 carboxylic acid group and the 4-pyridine ring with the C-4 carbonyl group, into which binding to the DNA bases occur. In this work, we tried to show that by masking the carboxyl group through amide formation using certain amines to form levofloxacin carboxamides, an interesting activity is kept. Levofloxacin carboxamides on the C-3 group were prepared, followed by the formation of their copper complexes. The target compounds were characterized by FT-IR, elemental analysis. The antimicrobial activity of the target compounds was evaluated and showed satisfactory resu
... Show MorePatient satisfaction and dental anxiety considered as an important factors in dental health care and treatment because they greatly affect the patient's cooperation with the dentist and the extent to which follows the guidelines, treatment and preventive instruction. The present study investigates the relationship between patient satisfaction and dental anxiety, as well as their relation to demographic variables such as gender, age, number of visits, and cultural level. The study was applied on a random sample of dental clinics in Baghdad city with total of (200) patient (108 male and 92 female). Two scales were used in this study, patient satisfaction scale PSS (included 9 aspects, constructed by authors) and Iraqi dental anxiety scale
... Show MoreHumanity's relationship with the environment is a delicate balance. Since the industrial revolution, the world's population has grown at an exponential rate, and this has a major environmental effect. Deforestation, pollution, and global climate change are just a few of the negative consequences of population and technological growth. Particulates, Sulphur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the primary pollutants that harm our health. These contaminants may be directly emitted into the atmosphere (primary pollutants) or formed in the atmosphere from primary pollutants reacting (secondary pollutants. Tropospheric ozone is created When water reacts with volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the presen
... Show MoreThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the infection escalation around the globe encourage the implementation of the global protocol for standard care patients aiming to cease the infection spread. Evaluating the potency of these therapy courses has drawn particular attention in health practice. This observational study aimed to assess the efficacy of Remdesivir and Favipiravir drugs compared to the standard care patients in COVID-19 confirmed patients. One hundred twenty-seven patients showed the disease at different stages, and one hundred and fifty patients received only standard care as a control group were included in this study. Patients under the Remdesivir therapy protocol were (62.20%); meanwhile, there (30.71
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