Background and Aim. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major risk factor for the progression to heart failure (HF), which is associated with an increase in left ventricular volume (LVV). This study aims to measure ventricular function and myocardial perfusion imaging markers of the left side of the heart, which can be performed with injection of a 99mTc at stress and rest by using single-photonemission-computed-tomography (SPECT). Subject and methods. The study included 121 patients with CAD, comprising 53 females and 68 males with ages between 25 to 88 years and 265 healthy subjects comprising 84 males and 181 females. All patients and healthy subjects volunteered to participate in this study. They were classified according to their degree of ischemia. All patients and healthy subjects who were enrolled in the study underwent myocardial perfusion imaging following the 2-days rest – stress 99mTc sestamibi (GSPECT) protocol. End-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, and ejection fraction using the GSPECT software were assessed both at rest and during stress for comparison. Results. The results show that the change in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) decreased during rest and stress in all degrees of ischemia. In contrast, the change in left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV) increased during stress and rest compared with the left ventricular end diastolic volume (LVEDV) for all degrees. The increase in ESV ratio for patients compared to healthy control subjects was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the increase in EDV/ESV for all degrees of ischemia. Conclusion. Ischemia is associated with lower ejection fraction (EF) and is significantly (P < 0.05) related more to end-systole contraction than diastole. A small decrease in EF in patients tested after stress maybe caused by insufficient blood supply that may be adequate for left ventricular oxygen demand
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune diseasecharacterized by chronic inflammationthat affects joints and cartilage. Bone complications such asRA-relatedosteoporosis are one of the most extra-articular manifestations. Many inflammatory mediators are released during RA disease pathophysiology; these mediators stimulate osteoclast genesis of bone by direct effects on RANKL and OPG. The study aimedto measure RANKL, OPG in RA patients treated with Etanercept only and other groups treated with Methotrexate onlyat baseline and after three months to evaluate bone state. An observational case-control prospective study was done on 30 RA patients who received MTX, 30 RA patients who received ETN, and 30 healthy,age-matched control groups. The
... Show MoreRheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease. Inflammation leads to joint damage and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a measure of inflammation in many diseases. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the usefulness of NLR to detect inflammation in RA, and its correlation to RA disease activity indices and some hematological parameters. A cross-sectional study involving 24 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are using MTX participated in this study. All patients were clinically evaluated using disease activity score of 28 joints (DAS28) and simplified disease activity index (SDAI), whereas functional disability was assessed by health assessment questionnaire di
... Show MoreBackground: Patients with decompensated cirrhosis are often given therapeutic and prophylactic drugs. Polypharmacy raises both the likelihood of prescription errors and the complications associated with drugs. Clinical pharmacists are excellent at recognizing, addressing, and preventing clinically significant drug-related problems.
Objectives: Identification types of pharmacist interventions to address drug-related problems in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and assess the acceptance/implementation of these recommendations. And identify patient factors associated with accepting pharmacist recommend
... Show MoreBackground: Colonic cancer is a very common disease world-wide being fourth most common cancer characterized by abnormal proliferation of the inner wall of colon then taking full colon wall thickness then spreading to surrounding lymph nodes and tissues and finally distant metastasis. It is one of most complicated diseases with debilitating symptoms which becomes more sever , prominent and specific with advancing stage with high percent of fatality and relatively short survival if diagnosed late or if left untreated.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of serum CEA & sAPRIL levels in the diagnosis and screening of colon cancer and their validity for this.Patients and methods: This study was applied on 35 patients with colonic can
... Show MoreIn this research, a novel synthesis of CaONPs has been developed via an environmentally friendly, green method. Garlic extract (Allium sativum) was used as a green-reducing and stabilizing agent for CaONPs. The average particle size of CaONPs was approximately 24.42 nm. The synthesized CaONPs were identified by using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, U.V.-vis spectrum, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and zeta potential (Zp) analysis. The current study highlights the notable applications for CaONPs. First, an antimicrobial assay revea
... Show MoreDual-species biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus generate difficult-to-treat illnesses. Nutrition stress in biofilms affects physiology, microbial metabolism, and species interactions, impacting bacteria growth and survival. Furthermore, the function of alginate, which is encoded by the algD gene, in the production of biofilms has been established. The present study aimed at investigating the impact of starvation on algD gene expression in single-species biofilm of P. aeruginosa and dual-species biofilms of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus from hospital sewage. A total of six P. aeruginosa and six S. aureus isolates were obtained from the microbiology laboratory at the Department of Biology, College of Science, Universit
... Show MoreBackground: In advanced diabetes mellitus, serum levels of the most hormones are altered due to several interplaying mechanisms. Objective: To assess the relation of serum leptin and lipid profile in type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Patients and Method: Serum leptin levels and its relation to lipid profile were estimated in 62 patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy attending the National Diabetes Center in Al- Mustansiriya University, and (26) healthy individuals considered as control group. The diabetic patients were classified into three groups, (24) pathients with normoalbuminuria (21) patients with microalbuminuria and (17) patients with macroalbuminuria. Fasting plasma glucose, serum creatinine, Hb A1c %, lipid profile (Total c
... Show MoreIn individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene polymorphism has been linked to diabetic nephropathy (DN). Different renal disorders, including DN, have been found to alter cannabinoid (CB) receptor expression and activation. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between CNR1 rs1776966256 and rs1243008337 genetic variants and the risk of developing DN in Iraqi patients with T2DM. The study included 100 patients with T2DM, divided into two groups: 50 with DN and 50 without DN. Genotyping of CNR1 rs1776966256 and rs1243008337 polymorphisms was conducted using PCR in DN patients and control samples. The distribution of rs1776966256 and rs1243008337 genotypes and alleles bet
... Show MoreBreast cancer is among the primary causes of death among Iraqi women and is a serious worldwide health concern. ALK or anaplastic lymphoma kinase, is connected to several cancers, including breast cancer.. The goal of this research was to assess the prevalence of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) with Alkaline phosphatise (ALP) and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) together as diagnostic markers. The study comprised 60 patients with metastatic breast cancer and 60 healthy volunteers. The blood levels of the enzymes (ALP), (LDH), and ALK in Iraqi breast cancer patients are compared to those of healthy controls. It was shown that compared to healthy people, patients had breast cancer noticeably greater levels of ALK, ALP, and NDH .These biomarkers m
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