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.
Celiac 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. Fu
... 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 More60 patients diagnosed as having urticaria were included in the study ; 30 patients were effected with acute urticaria and 30 patients were affected with chronic urticaria. In addition, 30 healthy adult volunteers were selected as control group .The patients and control groups sera were examined with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA) to detect total level IgE and radial immunodiffusion (RID) to detect levels of IgG , IgA and IgM . The total level of IgE in acute urticaria ( 1.45±0.13) IU/mL and chronic urticaria (2.12 ± 0.10) IU/mL patients were significantly higher than the control groups ( 0.85 ± 0.10)IU/mL (p<0.05). The level of IgG in acute urticaria ( 12.5± 0.42) g/L and chronic (13.16±0.40) g/L patients , IgA in acute (2.
... Show MoreColorectal cancer (CRC), the second most fatal cancer and the 3rd most common cancer is expected to cause 0.9 million deaths globally in 2025. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is currently used in the follow-up of patients with colorectal cancer, and in this study, we are trying to find a better marker than CEA in following up on patients' health and knowing the effectiveness of the treatment used and as a diagnostic marker for colorectal cancer. To determine the significance of Cancer antigen 72-4 (CA72-4) as a prognosis predictor in patients with colorectal cancer, compare its prognostic validity to the CEA biomarker. this case-control study includes (150) participants, 100 patients (59 males and 41 females), and 50 healthy controls
... Show MoreBackground: The oral cavity is considered as a complex ecological niche, its complex microbial community is reflected to it. Streptococcus mutans has been implicated as one of the major etiological factor of dental caries. Tooth surfaces colonized with Streptococcus mutans are at a higher risk for developing caries, while lactobacilli are considered as the secondary invaders, not initiators of the carious lesion. The main purpose of this study was to correlate the dental caries (for primary and permanent teeth) in the upper jaw with the streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli count in the dental plaque and saliva, also to correlate the dental caries (for primary and permanent teeth) in the lower jaw with the streptococcus mutans and lactobaci
... Show MoreThe objective of this study was to determine the concentration of trace element chromium(III) and thyroid peroxidase activity in human serum , and to find a relationship between the concentration of chromium(III) and thyroid peroxidase activity in serum of patients with hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and healthy subjects. Serum thyroid peroxidase was measured by enzyme linked radioimmunoassay(ELISA) method and chromium determination was by atomic absorption spectrophotometer .Comparing the values of chromium concentration and thyroid peroxidase activity in both samples showed that there were significant positive correlations between chromium levels and thyroid peroxidase activity(P<0.01, r=0.11).
... Show MoreIntroduction: Dental fear is defined as the patient’s specific reaction towards stress related to dental treatment in which the stimulus is unkn..
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious disease of the liver and signifies a major worldwide health concern. HBV Genotyping is vital for further epidemiological study, predicting the disease outcome and response to treatment. The current study aimed to determine hepatitis B virus genotypes in patients with chronic hepatitis B, and to validate possible associations with the baseline characteristics of the disease. A total of 90 patients with chronic hepatitis B infection were enrolled in this study. Liver function tests, hepatitis B virus markers and DNA viral load were done using routine standardized procedures. HBV genotyping was performed using real time PCR. Genotype D was the most predominant in 64 (71.1%) of samples, while
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