Toxoplasmosis is a widespread infection usually caused by Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) parasite. It occurs in humans and other warm blooded animals, causing severe problems. It was found that there is an alteration in the trace elements concentrations levels associated with some human diseases. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the concentrations of some trace elements (Mg, Fe , Zn, and Cu) in the sera of 60 immunocompetent patients with chronic toxoplasmosis and 82 healthy individuals as a control group. Measuring the serum level of seropositivity rate of anti-T. gondii antibodies was done by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Kit, while the concentrations of trace elements were measured by absorption spectrophotometry. The copper element showed significant difference between patients and controls with lower average of concentration in seropositive patients than the control. Non-significantly difference was found for this element between females and males of both control and patient groups (p>0.05). Non-significantly difference was found in Mg, Zn and Fe levels between patients and control groups. Such results indicate the significance of additional knowledge of the mineral homeostasis and the regulatory processes during toxoplasmosis infection.
Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting the Iraqi population and the leading cause of cancer related mortality among Iraqi women. It has been well documented that prognosis of patients depends largely upon the hormone receptor contents and HER-2 over expression of their neoplasm. Recent studies suggest that Triple Positive (TP) tumors, bearing the three markers, tend to exhibit a relatively favorable clinical behavior in which overtreatment is not recommended. Aim: To document the different frequencies of ER/PR/HER2 breast cancer molecular subtypes focusing on the Triple Positive pattern; correlating those with the corresponding clinico-pathological characteristics among a sample of Iraqi patients diagnosed with th
... Show MoreThe coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, triggered by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, has affected over 100 million people and killed around 2 million individuals. One of the most common chronic illnesses in the world is diabetes, which greatly raises the risk of hospitalization and death for COVID-19 patients.
This study aims to analyze the novel coronavirus's general characteristics and shed light on COVID-19 and its management in diabetic individuals by measuring some metabolic and inflammatory factors in type 2 diabetic pa
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease. Inflammation leads to joint damage and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a measure of inflammation in many diseases. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the usefulness of NLR to detect inflammation in RA, and its correlation to RA disease activity indices and some hematological parameters. A cross-sectional study involving 24 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are using MTX participated in this study. All patients were clinically evaluated using disease activity score of 28 joints (DAS28) and simplified disease activity index (SDAI), whereas functional disability was assessed by health assessment questionnaire di
... Show MoreObjectives: To determine the (QoL) for patients with permanent pacemaker and to find-out the relationship between
these patients’ (QoL) and their sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, level of education, and
occupation.
Methodology: ٨ purposive non-probability” sample of (62) patient with permanent pacemaker was involved in this
study. The developed questionnaire consists of (4) parts which include !.demographic data form, 2.disease-related
information form, 3.socioeconomic data form, and 4.Permanent pacemaker patient’s quality of life questionnaire data
form. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were determined through the application of a pilot study. ٨
descriptive statistical a
Objective: The present study aims to assess the stressful life events for patients with substance abuse in Baghdad city.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out at (Baghdad teaching hospital and Ibn-Rushed Psychiatric hospital).
Starting from 1
st of December 2012 to 3
rd of July 2013, A non-probability (purposive) sample of 64 patients that
diagnosed with substance abuse, the data were collected through the use of semi-structured interview by
questionnaire, which consists of three parts sociodemographic data, medical information, and Life events scale
consists of 49-items distributed to six domains including, family and social domain, health domain, security, legal and
criminal domain, work and school do
Background: Patients who have both neurological impairment and kyphotic deformity can be treated medically, and this treatment can be achieved with anti-tuberculous drugs alone.
Objective: To evaluate conservative medical management of patients with tuberculosis of the spine (Pott disease). The prognostic significance of various clinical, radiological, and long-term follow-up findings in these patients was also evaluated.
Methods: Between January 2009 and January 2018 data were collected prospectively at The Neurosciences Hospital/ Baghdad/ Iraq in 44 patients with Pott disease in the thoracic and lumbar spine. These patients had no major neurological deficits or
... Show MoreBackground: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a well-recognized cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic implications of the restrictive left ventricular filling pattern (RFP) in dilated cardiomyopathy.Methods: Patients with DCM admitted to Ibn AL-Bitar Hospital for Cardiac Surgery, Baghdad-Iraq, from May 2006 to August 2008, underwent a full clinical evaluation and Doppler echocardiography study. Patients were classified into three groups: Group I had persistent restrictive filling pattern; Group II had reversible restrictive filling pattern; and Group III had nonrestrictive filling pattern. Results: The current study was conducted on a total number of 80 patients with DCM, fifty (62.5 %) were
... Show MoreThe etiology of Crohn's disease (CD) is still unknown. However, many factors, including a dysregulated immune system, altered microbiota, inheritance, and environmental factors, have been implicated. This work was conducted to estimate the effect of fungal microbiota on two bone mineral density markers, RANKL and sclerostin, in addition to the correlation between these markers and vitamin B12, D3, and zinc in CD patients, along with their potential effect on fungal microbiota and vice versa. Peripheral blood and carry-Blair Stool samples were collected from 88 participants (60 newly diagnosed with CD without treatment and 28 healthy controls) to detect serum levels of RANKL and sclerostin, and culture media were used to grow, isolat
... Show MoreBackground: Oxidative stress is a deleterious process that can be an important mediator of damage to cell structures and consequently various disease states. Exposure to free radicals from a variety of sources has led organisms to produce a series of defense mechanisms. The antioxidant ceruloplasmin is a copper-containing ferroxidase that can oxidize ferrous iron (Fe2+) to its nontoxic ferric (Fe3+) form. Ferrous iron (Fe2+) is extremely damaging because of its ability to generate toxic free radicals. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory oral mucosal disease of unknown etiology. Previous studies reported that reactive oxygen species may be involved in the pathogenesis of lichen planus. The aim of this study was to estimate the
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