Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a collection of chronic, recurrent inflammatory illnesses of the gastrointestinal system, including Crohn's disease (CD). Infliximab is one of the biological medications used to treat CD. Therapeutic drug monitoring has evolved as a treatment in IBD, aiming to optimize benefit while meeting more demanding, objective end criteria. Objective: To determine the achievement of target trough level (TL), develop anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) to infliximab, assess response to therapy, and study TL relations with different variables. Methods: The present study was cross-sectional and conducted from May 2022 to November 2022. It included 40 CD patients allotted into 2 groups: group 1 patients achieved the TL target, and group 2 patients did not achieve the TL target. Results: Twenty-two patients achieved target TL, while 18 patients did not. Dose escalation is recommended for 11 patients, switching therapy for 15 patients, and continuing the same dosage regimen for 14 patients. In addition, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, serum calprotectin and ADAs were significantly lower in patients who achieved target infliximab TL. Only serum calprotectin can be used to predict the achievement of the target TL of infliximab. Conclusions: Therapeutic drug monitoring of infliximab to determine the TL and ADAs can help to explain why some patients do not respond to this drug. Serum calprotectin may be used as a novel marker to predict the TL and response to infliximab.
Tuberculosis (TB) still remains an important medical problem due to high levels of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A series of innate immune mechanisms that create a cytokine network control the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and this response has the capacity to modify the host genomic DNA structure through epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation which could constantly alter the local gene expression pattern that can modulate the metabolism of the tissues and the immune-response. Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is an important pro-inflammatory cytokine regulator of the innate immune response to TB. This study aims to determine DNA methylation patterns of INF-γ gene promoter and measure serum IFN- γ level in newly diagnosed TB patient
... Show MoreIn this study the rate of infection in acute and chronic Toxoplasma gondii parasite that causes toxoplasmosis was determined. This study was Included 120 blood samples that collected from pregnant women revisions to some clinics and laboratories in Baghdad civil as well as 10 blood samples from non-infected women as a control group. All blood samples were collected in the first three months of the pregnancy period for detection toxoplasmosis by using serological tests of test kit ( Toxo , IgG.,Toxo , IgM ). To detect antibodies specialized type of IgG &IgM in acute and the chronic infection by Electro Clia manner using a Roche Cobas e411. The results showed that the total infection rate was (55.83)%, the rate of infection in acu
... Show MoreAccording to grammarians In ( نإ) and Itha (اذإ) are conditionals and sometimes they may be used interchangeably. However, when they are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, they have their own specific use. This paper attempts to investigate their meanings in the source language as well as investigate their translations and find out any differences or similarities. The translations that are adopted in this research are as follows: Pickthall, Al-Hilali & Khan, and Shakir.
A dose of ten grams of the roots and leaves of Nettle (Urtica dioica) dissolved in (200)ml of boiled water then covered for (10)min. was given to a sample of (15) patients attending to the herbal department of ministry of health complaining of malnutrition and low Hb(hemoglobin) concentration and PCV(packed cell volume) levels with absence of any other predisposing factors disease inorder to find the effects of these roots and leaves on Hb and PCV levels for different periods of time in relation to age and sex variations . The study have shown that this mixture has a high significant effect (p<0.001) in elevating (Hb) concentration and PCV levels on those patients according to the differences recorded from the start of the basic period unt
... Show MoreBackground: Smoking is the major environmental risk factor that has been associated with the pathogenesis and progression of periodontal diseases. Interleukin-8 (IL-8), has been associated with the immunopathology of periodontitis. Objectives: To determine the influence of smoking on salivary Interleukin-8 level from smokers and non-smokers with periodontitis and periodontally healthy control subjects.
Materials and Methods: Un-stimulated saliva samples were collected of 90 participants: 30 smokers and 30 non-smokers with chronic periodontitis, as well as 30 periodontally healthy control subjects. The clinical parameters such as the pocket depth, clinical attachment loss, plaque index, and gingiv
... Show MoreAt present, the ability to promote national economy by adjusting to political, economic, and technological variables is one of the largest challenges faced by organization productivity. This challenge prompts changes in structure and line productivity, given that cash has not been invested. Thus, the management searches for investment opportunities that have achieved the optimum value of the annual increases in total output value of the production line workers in the laboratory. Therefore, the application of dynamic programming model is adopted in this study by addressing the division of investment expenditures to cope with market-dumping policy and to strive non-stop production at work.
Objectives: This study aims to determine the disease’s patterns and outcomes of admission among neonates hospitalized at the neonatal care unit in Erbil City, and using the findings as a baseline for neonate’s morbidity and mortality assessment in the future. Methodology: A retrospective study carried out at neonatal care unit of Raparin pediatric teaching hospital. An instrument for data collection developed by researcher included (age, gender, cause of admission, diagnosis and outcome upon discharge and causes of death). Content validity of the instrument was determined through the use of panel ex
Background: In young adults, multiple sclerosis is a prevalent chronic inflammatory demyelinating condition. It is characterized by white matter affection, but many individuals also have significant gray matter involvement. A double-inversion recovery pulse (DIR) pattern was recently proposed to improve the visibility of multiple sclerosis lesions. Objective: To find out how well a DIR sequence, FLAIR, and T2-weighted pulse sequences can find MS lesions in the supratentorial and infratentorial regions. Methods: A total of 37 patients with established diagnoses of multiple sclerosis were included in this cross-sectional study. Brain MRI was done using double inversion recovery, T2, and FLAIR sequences. The number of lesions was count
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