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 level of RANKL and OPG was measured at baseline and after three months of therapy by immunoenzymatically assay (ELISA). The results were tabulated and statistically analyzed usingthe statistical package for social science. The result demonstrated that RANKL level had a positive correlation with age and disease duration in contrast to OPG level showed a negative correlation with age and duration of disease. In the patients group treated with MTX at baseline, the RANKL level was significantly higher (181.336±65.583) than post-therapy (166.097±69.229), while the OPG level at baseline significantly lower (594.398±133.238) than post therapy (614.499±150.879). In ETN treated patients, the level of RANKL in baseline was significantly higher than (231.247±73.134) RANKL level post-therapy (200.363±76.807), while OPG level in baseline waslower (463.263±96.392) than post therapy (503.608±107.692). The study demonstrated in baseline RANKL/OPG ratio significant higher (0.4340±0.234) than post therapy (0.3690±0.222). All RA patients had or were at high risk for osteoporosis.Both Etanarcept and methotrexate produce insignificant differences on OPG and RANKL levels, in the same time this biomarkers are not good indicators for bone state.
Alterations of trace element concentrations adversely affect biological processes and could promote carcinogenesis. Trace element deficiency or excess is implicated in the development or progression of some cancers like colorectal cancer. The aim of the present study was to compare the serum copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in patients with colorectal cancer from Iraqi male patient with those of healthy subjects. During the period of March 2015 until august 2015, a total of 25 patients with metastatic colon cancer and 20 healthy volunteers were enrolled from the Al-Kadhimia Teaching Hospital after the diagnosis using a histopathological examination for the malignant tumor; their age was between (38-60) years. Higher levels o
... Show MoreObjective Thalassemic patients present with multiple immune abnormalities that may predispose them to oral Candida, however this has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to assess oral candidal colonization in a group of patients with β-thalassemia major both qualitatively and quantitatively. Study design The oral mycologic flora of 50 β-thalassemia major patients and 50 age- and sex-matched control subjects was assessed using the concentrated oral rinse technique. Candida species were identified using the germ tube test and the Vitek yeast identification system. Results Oral Candida was isolated from 37 patients (74%) and 28 healthy subjects (56%; P = .04). The mean candidal count was significantly higher in thalassemic patie
... Show MoreBackground: psychiatric and behavioral side effects are
common in patients with epilepsy and it may represent an
intrinsic feature of the disease itself or a side effect of the
antiepileptic use. Our aim in the present study is to assess
the psychiatric side effects of Sodium Valproate and
Carbamazipine .as these drugs are the most commonly
used antiepileptic drugs in Iraq.
Methods: 80 patients with primary generalized epilepsy
on Carbamazipine and 50 patients on Sodium Valproate
were enrolled in the present study; all the patients were
assessed for any psychological disturbances using semistructural interview based on the tenth edition of the
international classification of the diseases(ICD 10)
adopte
Renal function tests are commonly used in clinical practice to look for renal disease, the most common includes the serum urea, uric acid and creatinine. Heart failure patients have a higher incidence of renal function test abnormalities than individuals who do not have heart failure disease. Fifty subjects of adults (male) were divided in to two groups, 25 subjects (healthy) as control (group1) and 25 subjects with heart failure (group 2). Our results indicate that serum uric acid, urea, and creatinine values were significantly elevated (P≤0.05) in patients group (2) compared with healthy group (1). The results also showed, the effect of age categories on uric acid blood urea nitrogen and creatinine values (P≤0.05) and there were no si
... Show MoreThis study aimed to evaluate the IHC expression of CDX2 protein in HGC patients and control groups and also to study the correlation between IHC expression of the CDX2 and different clinicopathological variables such as: age, gender, histopathological subtype, grade, and stage of the tumor in HGC cases. the retrospectively sectional study for the period from 2014 to 2018 included a total of 60 formalin fixed paraffin embedded blocks of the HGC tissue (partial or total gastrectomy specimens) that collected from the archived materials of the Department of Pathology of Baghdad Teaching Hospital and the Center of Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Diseases, and also some samples were collected from other private laboratories. The IHC expression of th
... Show MoreBackground: Normal Left Ventricular systolic function is present in nearly 50% of patients with congestive heart failure, the majority of such patients have systemic hypertension. Recent studies have demonstrated Left Ventricular dyssynchrony among patients with heart failure and normal systolic function. The co-existence between Left Ventricular dyssynchrony and hypertension with normal systolic function (with no clinical evidence of heart failure) is less well understood.
Objective:
To assess the Left Ventricular dyssynchrony among hypertensive patients with normal systolic function by using Tissue doppler imaging.To find out the associations between the LV dyssynchrony and other global
... Show MoreObjective: The present study aims to assess the stressful life events for patients with substance abuse in Baghdad city.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out at (Baghdad teaching hospital and Ibn-Rushed Psychiatric hospital).
Starting from 1
st of December 2012 to 3
rd of July 2013, A non-probability (purposive) sample of 64 patients that
diagnosed with substance abuse, the data were collected through the use of semi-structured interview by
questionnaire, which consists of three parts sociodemographic data, medical information, and Life events scale
consists of 49-items distributed to six domains including, family and social domain, health domain, security, legal and
criminal domain, work and school do
Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) is a chronic and progressive condition, which affects people all around the world. The risk of complications increases with age if the disease is not managed properly. Diabetic neuropathy is caused by excessive blood glucose and lipid levels, resulting in nerve damage. Apelin is a peptide hormone that is found in different human organs, including the central nervous system and adipose tissue. The aim of this study is to estimate Apelin levels in diabetes type 2 and Diabetic peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) Iraqi patients and show the extent of peripheral nerve damage. The current study included 120 participants: 40 patients with Diabetes Mellitus, 40 patients with Diabetic peripheral Neuropathy, and 40 healthy
... Show MoreBackground: psychiatric and behavioral side effects
are common in patients with epilepsy and it may
represent an intrinsic feature of the disease itself or a
side effect of the antiepileptic use. Our aim in the
present study is to assess the psychiatric side effects of
Sodium Valproate and Carbamazipine .as these drugs
are the most commonly used antiepileptic drugs in Iraq.
Methods: 80 patients with primary generalized
epilepsy on Carbamazipine and 50 patients on Sodium
Valproate were enrolled in the present study; all the
patients were assessed for any psychological
disturbances using semi-structural interview based on
the tenth edition of the international classification of
the diseases(ICD 10) ad
Background: Arylesterase activity of Paraoxonase-1 (ARE-PON-1) exhibits an antioxidant role which protects lipoprotein from oxidation. It is known that ARE-PON-1 antioxidant activity associated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) reduces the oxidative damage mediated by low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The present study was aimed to examine the level of serum ARE-PON1 in Iraqi patients with β-thalassemia minor and its relationship with lipid profile (total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL-C), and LDL-C) and hematologic changes as a part of antioxidant system action. Methods: In the present study, the ARE-PON-1 activity was investigated in serum of patients with β-thalassemia minor. Resu
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