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.
Introduction: Selenium is an essential trace element involved in different physiological functions of the human body. An inverse relationship between serum selenium levels and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia has been reported. cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is regarded as a potentially premalignant transformation of squamous cells of the cervix. Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between the serum level of selenium and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Methods: A case-control study was conducted at Baghdad Teaching Hospital and Iraqi National Cancer Research Center in the University of Baghdad during the period from July 2021 to July 2022. A convenient sample of 100 women was enrolled in the current study and included
... Show MoreIntroduction: Selenium is an essential trace element involved in different physiological functions of the human body. An inverse relationship between serum selenium levels and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia has been reported. cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is regarded as a potentially premalignant transformation of squamous cells of the cervix. Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between the serum level of selenium and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Methods: A case-control study was conducted at Baghdad Teaching Hospital and Iraqi National Cancer Research Center in the University of Baghdad during the period from July 2021 to July 2022. A convenient sample of 100 women was enrolled in the current study and included
... Show MoreThe amount of protein in the serum depends on the balance between the rate of its synthesis, and that of its catabolism or loss. Abnormal metabolism may result from nutritional deficiency, enzyme deficiency, abnormal secretion of hormones, or the actions of drugs and toxins. Renal cancer is the third most common malignancy of the genitourinary system, and accounts for 3% of adult malignancies globally. Total serum proteins were measured in malignant kidney tumor, benign kidney tumors, and non tumoral kidney diseases patient groups, as well as in healthy individuals. A significant decrease (p< 0.001) of total serum protein levels in patients with malignant kidney tumors when compared with those of benign tumors, non tumoral diseases, and hea
... Show MoreAcute myeloid leukemia is a malignant disease results from mutation in a multipotent haemopoietic stemcell. The study aimed to investigate NPM1 and FLT3-ITD mutations in Iraqi patients with AML and correlateresults with other clinical and laboratory findings. Fifty-eight AML patients, admitted to Baghdad TeachingHospital from October 2019 till March 2020 in addition to 25 normal controls, were included in the study.A detailed history, laboratory investigations including FLT3-ITD and NPM1 mutations were collected fromand analyzed. FLT3-ITD was detected in 17.24% of patients, NPM1 mutation in 10.34%. Most of thepatients are presented with pallor. FLT3-ITD mutation had a higher blast cell count (74%) while NPM1mutation had higher WBCs
... Show MoreAnemia of chronic disease (ACD) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are the two most important types of anemia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Functional iron deficiency in ACD can be attributed to overexpression of the main iron regulatory hormone hepcidin leading to diversion of iron from the circulation into storage sites resulting in iron-restricted erythropoiesis. The aim is to investigate the role of circulating hepcidin and to uncover the frequency of IDA in RA. The study included 51 patients with RA. Complete blood counts, serum iron, total iron binding capacity, ferritin, and hepcidin- 25 were assessed. ACD was found in 37.3% of patients, IDA in 11.8%, and combined (ACD/IDA) in 17.6%. Serum hepcidin was higher in ACD than in con
... Show MoreBackground: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative autoimmune disease mediated by autoreactive T cells against myelin-basic proteins. Cytokines are suggested to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of the disease. Among these cytokines is interleukin-2 (IL-2). Aim of the study: To investigate the association between IL2+166 G/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP: rs2069763) and MS in Iraqi patients. Serum level of IL-2 was also detected. Anti-rubella IgG antibody was further determined in the sera of patients. Patients and methods: Eighty MS patients (28 males and 52 females; age mean ± SD: 39.2 ± 16.1 years) and 80 healthy control matched patients for age (32.15 ± 16.13 years) and gender (28 males and 52 females) were en
... Show MoreAspartate aminotransferase was purified from urine and serum of patients with type 2 diabetes in a 2 steps procedure involving dialysis bag and sephadex G-25 gel filtration (column chromatography). The enzyme was purified 346.23 fold with 1467% yield and 3.46 fold with 142.85% yield in urine and serum of patients with type 2 diabetes respectively. The purified enzyme showed single peak. The results of this study revealed that AST activity of type 2 diabetes urine and serum increased significantly (p<0.001) compared with control group.
Background : The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is defined as the triad of liver disease, arterial deoxygenation, and pulmonary vascular dilatation. The reported prevalence of HPS in cirrhotic patients varies between 5% -17.5%.Objective : To estimate the prevalence of hepatopulmonary syndrome among patients with chronic liver disease and portal hypertension and to study the correlation between HPS and the severity of liver disease.Patients and methods : Thirty patients were studied for the presence of HPS using transthoracic contrast echocardiography for detection of pulmonary vasodilatation. Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) was determined in erect and supine position using a pulse oximeter , (SaO2 ≤ 92 % in supine position and/or a d
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus are both considered as a chronic disease that affect many people and have an interrelationship in their pathogenesis. Objective: The aim is to evaluate the salivary levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and galectin-3 in patients with periodontitis and type-2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: The samples were gathered from 13 healthy (control group) and 75 patients split into 3 groups, 25 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and healthy periodontium (T2DM group), 25 patients with generalized periodontitis (P group), and 25 patients with generalized periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus (P-T2DM group). Clinical periodontal parameters were documented. The concentration of IL-17
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