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

Background: Because of the disturbance in the pituitary gland, growth hormone (GH) secretion will be increased and, as a result, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) secretion will be increase as well, leading to a chronic and rare disease called acromegaly disease. One of the most serious complications of acromycaly is diabetes. Insulin resistance, which causes diabetes, occurs in the body because of increased growth hormone secretion Objective: The aim of this work is to estimate some biochemical parameters. These parameters were not studied extensively in the literature such as BALP and LOX and the possibility of using LOX as a new biomarker for acromyalgic patients with diabetic. Patients and Methods: The study was performed on (25) mal

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a public health problem and many studies support the link between kidney dysfunction and cardiovascular events.  Aldosterone has been shown for decades that a plasma aldosterone concentration is elevated in CKD. Whilst, Osteoprotegerin (OPG), after its capacity to protect bone, also osteoprotegerin is elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), where it could predict the deterioration of kidney function, cardiovascular, vascular events and all-cause mortality. On the other hand, fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), in patients with CKD, its levels seem to increase progressively as kidney function worsens. The aim of the present study is to assess the correlations between serum osteoprotegerin

Background: Sex variations in coronary artery disease (CAD) are well documented. However, sex differences in coronary artery calcium (CAC) and its role in the detection of coronary artery stenosis remain controversial. Objective: To assess the impact of sex variation on coronary artery calcification and its efficacy in predicting coronary artery stenosis. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study including 230 consecutive patients with suspected CAD (120 men and 110 women) referred for coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). The study analyzed sex-based differences in the sensitivity and specificity of coronary artery calcification (CAC) for detecting moderate to severe stenosis across various coronary arteries

MR Younus, 2022

Glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) play a role in the detoxification of environmental chemicals and mutagens, such as those inhaled during tobacco smoking. There have been conflicting reports concerning GST polymorphisms as risk factors in the development of lung cancer. No studies focused on Arab populations exposed to Waterpipe (WP) tobacco smoke have been undertaken. Here Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and gene sequenc- ing were applied to analyze allelic variations in GSTP1-rs1695 and -rs1138272 amongst 123 lung cancer patients and 129 controls. The data suggest that WP smoking raised the risk of lung cancer more than three-fold (OR 3.6; 95% CI 2.1–6.0; p < 0.0001). However, there was no s

Background: Appreciation of the crucial role of risk factors in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the most significant advances in the understanding of this important disease. Extensive epidemiological research has established cigarette smoking, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension as independent risk factors for CADObjective: To determine the prevalence of the 4 conventional risk factors(cigarette smoking, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension) among patients with CAD and to determine the correlation of Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk score with the extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with unstable angina /non ST elevation myocardial infarction (UA/NSTEMI).Methods: We

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in female and the most registered cause of women’s mortality worldwide. BI-RADS 4 breast lesions are associated with an exceptionally high rate of benign breast pathology and breast cancer, so BI-RADS 4 is subdivided into 4A, 4B and 4C to standardize the risk estimation of breast lesions. The aim of the study: to evaluate the correlation between BI-RADS 4 subdivisions 4A, 4B & 4C and the categories of reporting FNA cytology results. A case series study was conducted in the Oncology Teaching Hospital in Baghdad from September 2018 to September 2019. Included patients had suspicious breast findings and given BI-RADS 4 (4A, 4B, or 4C) in the radiological report accordingly. Fine needle aspirati

One of the key molecules in the conversion of sphingosine to sphingosine-1- phosphate is SPHK-1, also known as Sphingosine Kinase 1 (SPHK-1). Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a lipid that acts as a signaling molecule and plays an essential role in inflammatory and immunomodulatory responses. S1P has recently been identified as a mediator and a biomarker in inflammatory bone diseases such as osteoporosis and inflammatory osteolysis based on the biological effects of S1P in osteoclastic and osteoblastic cells and immune cells. According to recent research, S1P may play a role in the pathogenesis of periodontitis, an inflammatory bone-destructive condition. This study assesses the salivary level SPHK-1 in periodontitis and its correlat