Background: Rituximab is a chimeric IgG1 kappa immunoglobulin that has been genetically modified to incorporate human constant region sequences together with murine light- and heavy-chain variable region sequences. People use it to treat rheumatoid arthritis and certain malignancies. Objective: The study aimed to assess the potential association between the serum levels of Factor I, CD59, interleukins (IL)-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN)-γ and the response to Rituximab treatment in Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the rheumatology center at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Ninety adult patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and are receiving Rituximab intravenous infusions were included. The enrolled patients were divided into a responder group (45 patients) and a non-responder group (45 patients). The response to Rituximab was assessed according to the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28). Results: The serum levels of Factor I and CD59 were significantly higher in the non-responders group in comparison to the responders group. In addition, the serum IL-6 and IFN-γ levels were significantly elevated in the non-responders group in comparison to the responders group. The estimated marker serum levels showed a strong, significant correlation with the 6-month change in DAS28. Conclusions: In Rituximab nonresponder RA patients, serum levels of Factor I, CD59, Factor H, IL-6, and IFN-γ are higher, and they have good potential to be used in the assessment of the response to Rituximab therapy.
Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most frequently observed malignancy in females worldwide. Today, tamoxifen (TAM) is considered as the highly effective therapy for treatment of breast tumors. Oxidative stress has implicated strongly in the pathophysiology of malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the levels of oxidants and antioxidants in patients with newly diagnosed and TAM-treated BC. Sixty newly diagnosed and 60 TAM-treated women with BC and 50 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Parameters including total oxidant capacity (TOC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase (CAT) activity were determined before and after treatment with TAM. The serum levels of TOC and oxidative stress index (OSI) were
... Show MoreBreast cancer is among the primary causes of death among Iraqi women and is a serious worldwide health concern. ALK or anaplastic lymphoma kinase, is connected to several cancers, including breast cancer.. The goal of this research was to assess the prevalence of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) with Alkaline phosphatise (ALP) and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) together as diagnostic markers. The study comprised 60 patients with metastatic breast cancer and 60 healthy volunteers. The blood levels of the enzymes (ALP), (LDH), and ALK in Iraqi breast cancer patients are compared to those of healthy controls. It was shown that compared to healthy people, patients had breast cancer noticeably greater levels of ALK, ALP, and NDH .These biomarkers m
... Show MoreTransient drop in the heart beat or transient heart block (AVB) may be consider the main cause of syncope or presyncope inpatients with bifascicular block and syncope According to the Guidelines for cardiac pacing pacemaker consider part of treatment. Aims of our study were to evaluate whether there is role for EPS in patients BFB and to evaluate the symptoms after pacing. 42 patients were enrolled in this study, with mean age value (63.4± 12.2years), suffer from interventricular conductive defect and syncope; patients underwent EPS on admission time, and pacemaker implantation accordingly and programmed follow up for the device in the last four years. Our patients were 25 (59.5%) male and 17 (40.5%)female, all of them with syncope o
... Show MoreEpstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection is associated with broad spectrum of clinical manifestationsdepending on the immune status of the host, To analyze their possible role in the complication ofautoimmune hepatitis, we investigated (30) female patients with autoimmune hepatitis type-1 of(10-40)years and 25 healthy female of same ages(control groups). Both groups were carried outto measure the levels of EBV-CA IgM, IgG Ab, EBV-EA IgM, IgG Ab, and EBV-NA IgM, IgGAb using indirect immunoflourescent assay (IFAT).The prevalence of EBV-CA IgM, IgG Ab were(10%,20%) and EBV-EA IgM, IgG Ab were (10% and20%) respectively, while the prevalence ofEBV-NA IgG Ab was( 3.33%) and there are no prevalence of EBV-NA IgM Ab. There weresignificant differences (P
... Show MoreBackground : Coronary artery disease is theunderlying cause in approximately two thirds of
patients with systolic heart failure ;
Coronary artery angiogriphy may be useful to
define the presence ,
Anatomical characteristics ,and functional
significance of Coronary artery disease in
selected heart failure patients with or without signs
and aymptoms of Coronary artery disease.
Objectives: to verify the clinical usefulness of
coronary angiography (CA) in congestive heart
failure (CHF) patients with no history of ischemic
heart disease and to identify predictive factors for
performing coronary angiography to patients with
congestive heart failure with no obvious ischemia.
Methods :this is a cross-ses
Background: Hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated, it's classified as either primary (essential) hypertension or secondary hypertension, and it increases the risk of ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and other cardiovascular diseases. Several classes of medications collectively referred to as antihypertensive drugs like beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, renin inhibitors and statins (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor. Statin medication may have some beneficial effects when subjects have dental plaque or signs of periodontitis as gingival bleeding. The purpose of this study were to as
... Show MoreA total of (90) blood samples were collected from male patients infected with Toxoplasmosis who recovered from COVID- 19 and attended Kamal Alsamiraai Hospital from 15 January to 15 September 2021. We measured anti-Toxoplasma antibodies (IgG and IgM) detected by ELISA, whereas Anti-COVID-19 antibodies (IgG and IgM) were estimated using Elisa and Afilias. The semen characteristics were also studied among fertile, healthy individuals (control group) and sub-fertile patients. Results showed that the mean sperm count was high among the control group (40.5±1.3x 106/ml) compared with that of the sub-fertile patients (10.3±1.75 and 8.8±1.9 x 106/ml for oligozoospermia, and oligoasthenozoospermia respectively), and it was the highest (44.7±1.4
... Show MoreBackground: Propolis has received great interest because of its wide range antimicrobial activity. Propolis also called (bee glue) due to its collection by (Apismellifera) honeybees from various plants resinous substance. The aim of this study was to determine the antibacterial effect of propolis extracts (aqueous and alcoholic) on anaerobic periodontal pathogen namely Aggregatibacteractinomycetemcomitans. Materials and Methods: Strains of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans wasisolated from pockets of systemically healthy patients aged between 35-55 years old suffering from chronic periodontitis with pocket depths of 5-6 mm, the bacteria cultured on special blood Agar plates solid media. Propolis was extracted by using water and alcohol.
... Show MoreTo use quality indicators to study the management of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in different regions.
Prospective cohort study of STEMI within 24 h of symptom onset (11 462 patients, 196 centres, 26 European Society of Cardiology members, and 3 affiliated countries). The median delay between arrival at a percutaneous cardiovascular intervention (PCI) centre and primary PCI was 40 min (interquartile range 20–74) with 65.8% receiving PCI
: Cervical malignancy positioned as the fourth most prevalent disease among women around the world. HPVs especially HPV16 are the causative agent of cervical cancer, responsible of about 5% of all human cancers worldwide. Some researchers found that the fibronectin is repressed by the papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 E7 oncoprotein in both HPV-positive nontumorigenic and tumorigenic cell lines, while others found that the HPV oncoprotein increase the levels of fibronectin. The aim is to study the effect of HPV infection on Fibronectin expression and their correlation onthe development of Cervicalcancinoma. The current retrospective study enrolled paraffinized blocks of two groups. The research included 30 cervical carcinomatous tissues as well
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