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.
Diabetic nephropathy is characterized by persistent microalbuminuria and metabolic changes that decline renal functions. Researchers have been prompted to explore new biomarkers such as KIM-1 and nephrin that may enhance the identification of disease. Objective: To Evaluate biomarker levels of kidney injury molculre-1 (KIM-1) concentration and nephrin as early and sensitive markers of nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients. Method: One hundred T2DM patients were included in a cross-sectional study at the specialized center for endocrinology and diabetes, Baghdad. The first group includes 50 diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients, and the second group includes 50 T2DM patients without DN. Biochemical and clinical parameters were reported for pa
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was investigating the correlation between elevation of Prolactin levels and the increase of the concentrations of total sialic acids. The study was performed on 149 women consisted of 93 infertile hyperprolactinimic women (patients), age ranged16-38 years old, and 56 normoprolactinemic women as a control group, 18-37 years old. Serum prolactin (PRL) and gonadotroph hormones (Follicle stimulating hormone FSH and Luteinizing hormone LH) were measured using enzymatic immunoassay (EIA) method, resorcinol method for serum total sialic acids (SIA). Patients were divided into four groups, each group represented the level of prolactin of infertile women as follow: G1= (21-30), G2= (31-40), G3= (41-50), and G4= (51-60) ng/mL. S
... Show Moreالخلاصة: الحكة اليوريمية لدى مرضى غسيل الكلى يؤثر على أكثر من 40٪ من المرضى. وربما ترتبط الحكة المستمرة بمستويات عالية من الإنترلوكين 31. الاهداف: النظر إلى مستويات مصل إنترلوكين 31 لدى مرضى غسيل الكلى المصابين بمرض الكلى في المرحلة النهائية، سواء مع أو بدون حكة يوريمية. النتائج: لم يكن مستوى المصل [الوسيط (] لـ IL-31 في المرضى الذين يعانون من الحكة اليوريميةأو بدون حكة في عينة مصل ما قبل غسيل الكلى مختلفًا بشكل م
... Show MoreObjective The aim of this study was to assess whether serum cytokine levels correlate with clinical periodontal parameters in health or disease.
Materials and Methods Male subjects (40–60 years) with CP (n = 30), CP + CHD (n = 30), and healthy controls (n = 20) had plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth (PPD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) evaluated. Serum IL-1β and IL-6 levels were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results PLI, GI, PPD, and CAL were significantly higher in patients with CP + CHD compared to those with CP. Serum levels of IL-1β and IL-6 were also si
Background: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an unresolving inflammation of the liver of unknown cause associated with interface hepatitis on histological examination,hypergammaglobulinemia and presence of circulating autoantibodies. Antibody-mediated tissue injury might be responsible for tissue injury in AIH therefore; a number of studies have been focused on the immunoglobulines in these patients .The aim of the study is to estimate the level of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA and IgM ) in different types of Autoimmune hepatitis ( AIH).
Patients and Methods: The study was performed on 73 Iraqi patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), attending the teaching hospital for gastroenterology and liver disease in a p
Background: Cystinosis is a rare autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease with high morbidity and mortality. It is caused by mutations in the CTNS gene that encodes the cystine transporter, cystinosin, which leads to lysosomal cystine accumulation. It is the major cause of inherited Fanconi syndrome, and should be suspected in young children with failure to thrive and signs of renal proximal tubular damage. The diagnosis can be missed in infants, because not all signs of renal Fanconi syndrome are present during the first months of life. Elevated white blood cell cystine content is the cornerstone of the diagnosis. Since chitotriosidase (CHIT1 or chitinase-1) is mainly produced by activated macrophages both in normal and inflammator
... Show MoreBackground: The main purpose of this study is to find if there is any correlation between the level of C-reactive protein (CRP) in gingival crevicular fluid with its serum level in chronic periodontitis patients and to explore the differences between them according to the probing depth. Materials and methods: Forty seven male subjects enrolled in this study. Thirty males with chronic periodontitis considered as study group whom further subdivided according to probing depth into subgroup 1 with pocket depth ≤6mm, subgroup 2 with pocket depth >6mm. The other 17 subjects considered as controls. For all subjects, clinical examination where done for periodontal parameters plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP),
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis is a common chronic and destructive autoimmune arthropathy .Treatment with infliximab gives great improvement to a large numbers of patients with RA ,however, in some patients after prolonged treatment infliximab can induce anti-infliximab antibodies formation and result to loss of infliximab efficacy and active persistent disease.
Objective: to investigate the frequency of anti-infliximab antibodies in Iraqi patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Patients and methods: fifty Iraqi RA patients(36 females and 14 males) compared with 50 control( 25 healthy control and 25 case control (patients with RA on other treatment) ) were included in this study from begging of March 201