The mean age of AS patients was (35.0 ± 9.8) years.When the patients and control subjects were divided into different age groups (>40, 30-40, <30 years), the differences were not significantin terms of disease prevalence. The results also showed that the percentage of male patients is higher than that of females. There was no significant difference (P?0.05) between patients and controls in the distribution of males and females.Most of the patients had the disease for a period of 5 years or higher, with a disease severity of ? 2.1 and functional disability degree of I, II. The resultsshoweddifferent patterns of distribution for the three tested cytokines. A significant increase in the level of TNF-?, anon-significantincrease in the level of CXCL-8, and a significant decrease in the level of IL-10 were observed in the sera of patients with AS compared with the control.The patients also demonstrated significant decreases in the serum ALT and AST enzyme levels, hemoglobin (Hb) level, white blood cells (WBC) count, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (P?0.05).The percentage of HLA-B27-positive Iraqi patients was lower than that of the HLA-B27-negative patients. Some of these patterns were also exposed to changes related to some determinants in patients, which included age, sex, disease duration, disease severity, functional disability, and HLA-B27 positivity,along with association with clinical subtypes of AS.The area under the curve was determined for the parameters of ESR, IL-10, TNF-? and CXCL-8.The most significant factor was found to beESR, followed by IL-10, and then TNF-?, with the presence of significant differences, while there was no diagnostic significance for CXCL-8 ,which showed no significant difference (p?0.05).
Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Iraq and the United Kingdom. While the disease is frequently diagnosed among middleaged Iraqi women at advanced stages accounting for the second cause of cancer-related deaths, breast cancer often affects elderly British women yielding the highest survival of all registered malignancies in the UK. Objective: To compare the clinical and pathological profiles of breast cancer among Iraqi and British women; correlating age at diagnosis with the tumor characteristics, receptor-defined biomarkers and phenotype patterns. Methods: This comparative retrospective study included the clinical and pathological characteristics of (1,940) consecutive female patients who were diagnosed with invasive b
... Show MoreThere are a few studies that discuss the medical causes for diabetic foot (DF) ulcerations in Iraq, one of them in Wasit province. The aim of our study was to analyze the medical, therapeutic, and patient risk factors for developing DF ulcerations among diabetic patients in Baghdad, Iraq.
Background: Leukemia is a broad term given to a group of malignant diseases characterized by diffuse replacement of bone marrow with proliferating leukocyte precursors. Chemotherapy has been increasingly used to treat malignant conditions. The systemic sequelae as a result of these immunosuppressive techniques induce many oral and dental complications. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of chemotherapy on oral health status and activity of salivary alkaline phosphates enzyme in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Materials and methods: The study groups included 28 patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia; they were under chemotherapy, aged 20-25 year old. The control group includes healthy subjects matching with study
... Show MoreBackground: study the effect of various risk factors on reperfusion success after thrombolysis by measuring ST resolution.
Objectives: Early patency of the infarct-related artery is associated with reduced mortality. Thrombolytic therapy is frequently followed by rapid recanalization lead to reduction of infarct size, improve left ventricular function and increase survival by reopening of coronary artery . The reduction in ST-segment elevation on the standard 12 lead electrocardiogram 1-4 h after initiation of thrombolysis may be the simplest and most useful clinical tool to test the effectiveness of thrombolytic therapy.
Methods: Seventy patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction admitted to alkindy teaching hospital C
Background: Arterial stiffness is related with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease events. Patients with atherosclerotic disease show to have larger diameters, reduced arterial compliance and lower flow velocities. Aim of study : To compare between patients of two age groups with concomitant diseases diabetes and hypertension in regard to intima media thickness and blood flow characteristics in order to estimate the blood perfusion to the brain via the common and internal carotid arteries. Subject and Methods : 40 patients with (diabetic and hypertension) diseases were enrolled , they were classified according to age. Color Doppler and B mode ultrasound was used to determine lumen Diameter (D), Intima – media thickness (IMT)
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic kidney disease is a gradual loss of kidney function with diabetes and hypertension as the leading cause. Chronic kidney disease is one of these systemic diseases that can affect salivary contents. Aims: This study aimed to assess salivary immunoglobulin A, interleukin-6 and C- reactive protein in chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis and those on conservative treatment in comparison with control subjects. Materials and methods: Ninety subjects were included in this study divided into three groups: 30 patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis for at least 6 months ago; 30 patients with chronic kidney disease on conservative treatment and 30 healthy control subjects. Secretory immunoglobulin A, inte
... Show MoreObjective: To evaluate nurses' practices toward coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients in the
intensive care units (ICU) and to find out the relationship with some vanables.
Methodology: A purposive sample of (50) staff nurses was selected out of three hospitals for cardiac surgery.
The study instmment consisted of two major sections was constructed. It is based on the review of literature.
First it is concerned with demographic data for nurses; and the second section is observationaL tool (checklist) is
composed of six parts in which there mere (78) items. Reliability and validity of the observational checklist were
determined through the analysis of a pilot study.
Data were collected through the use of the