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.
Background: Chronic kidney disease is a worldwide health problem, with adverse outcomes of cardiovascular disease and premature death, can be divided into five stages, depending on how severe the damage is to the kidneys, or the level of decrease in kidney function, the final stage of chronic kidney disease is called end-stage renal disease, salivary immunoglobulin A is the main immunoglobulin found in mucous secretions, including tears, saliva, colostrum and secretions from the genitourinary tract gastrointestinal tract, prostate and respiratory epithelium . It is also found in small amounts in blood.This study aimedto measuresalivary flow rate and salivaryimmunoglobulin Alevels in chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis treatment
... Show MoreBackground: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are said to be inherited in a multifactorial fashion, i.e. genetic-environmental interaction. Maternal nutritional deficiencies had long been reported to cause NTDs, especially folate deficiency during early pregnancy. More attention had been paid to the exact mechanism by which this deficiency state causes these defects in the developing embryo. The most significant of all researches was that connecting reduced folate and increased homocysteine level in maternal serum on one hand and the risk of developing a NTD baby on the other hand. Objectives : to determine the significance of homocysteine level in Iraqi mothers who gave birth to babies with NTDs as compared to normal controls. Patients, Materials
... Show MoreThere is currently a significantly larger concentration of toxins in our environment than there was in the past. This is mostly attributable to the expansion of modern industry. This investigation was conducted in order to investigate various haematological and biochemical changes in order to determine the effects of Cd on the liver and kidney. Because of its long biological half-life, it is considered hazardous to human health. The effect of sub-lethal doses (40, 80 and 120 mg\Kg) of Cadmium (Cd) on male mice were evaluated for 4 weeks, and analysis was done to estimate their biochemical parameters and antioxidant enzymes. The results showed that Cd-treated mice had considerably lower packed cell volume, red blood cells, and haemoglobin. W
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease that affects the supporting tissues of the teeth and it’s common among adults. Smoking is an important risk factor for periodontitis induces alveolar bone loss. Alkaline phosphatase enzyme is involved in the destruction of the human periodontium. It is produced by many cells such as polymorphonuclear leukocytes, osteoblasts, macrophages and fibroblasts within the area of the periodontium and gingival crevice. Osteocalcin is one of the most abundant matrix proteins found in bones and the only matrix protein synthesized exclusively there. Smaller Osteocalcin fragments are found in areas of bone remodeling and are actually degradation products of the bone matrix.The purpose of
... Show MoreThis paper numerically and theoretically investigates the optical and thermal performance of a parabolic trough collector PTC system. Many numerical simulations and theoretical analyses are conducted to demonstrate the influence of the receiver geometry and shifting from the focal position on the optical performance. The examined receiver geometries are circular, square, triangular, elliptical, and the new circular–square combined geometry is named as channel receiver. The thermal performance of PTC is examined for different volume flow rates theoretically in the range of (0.36 to 2.4 lpm). The results show that the best optical design is the channel receiver with an intercept factor of 84%, while the worst is the elliptical receiver with
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of trace elements Magnesium (Mg), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), and Selenium (Se) in blood sera of asthmatic patients by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The concentrations of Mg, Cu, and Zn have been determined by Flame Atomic Absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS), and Se with flameless Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (GFAAS). The study involves (55) asthmatic patients as study group and (28) subjects as control from both genders. Serum levels of Mg, Cu, and Se were significantly higher (p<0.001 for all) in patients when compared with healthy subjects, while Zn level was relatively significant (p<0.05). Our observations confirm the efficacy and applicability of (AAS) in
... Show MoreCeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by chronic inflammation that essentially affects the small intestine and is caused by eating gluten-containing foods. This study sought to determine gene expression of NLRP3 Inflammasome in peripheral blood of Iraqi CD children using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay. Thirty children with CD (12 males and 18 females) were enrolled in the study and their age range was 3-15 years. The diagnosis of the disease was confirmed by serological examinations and intestinal endoscopy. A control sample of 20 age-matched healthy children was also included. The children were stratified for age, gender, body max index (BMI), histological findings, and marsh classification. Furthe
... Show More