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.
ABSTRACTBackground: dyslipidemia plays a crucial rule in the development of cardiovascular disease, which has become the leading cause of death in most developed countries as well as in developing countries (1). The effects of reducing low density lipoprotein – C (LDL-C) concentrations on the prevention of cardiovascular events and stroke have been well reported in many clinical trials.Objectives: Evidence supports the use of statins for lipid modifications in the primary prevention of coronary artery disease, morbidity and mortality. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of atorvastatin in treating dyslipidemia in Iraqi obese patients.Methods: 200 overweight and obese patients with hypercholesterolemia, according to NCEP ATP
... Show MoreThe study aimed to evaluate the level of MMP‑2 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients in comparison with that in remission status, and healthy subjects, and to find its correlation with hematologic parameters. This study included sixty newly diagnosed AML patients. Remission status was assessed after induction chemotherapy. The overall survival (OS) was determined after 6 months. The plasma MMP‑2 level was measured at diagnosis by enzyme immunoassay. Twenty‑eight healthy individuals were recruited as a control group. Plasma MMP‑2 was higher in AML patients than in healthy individuals (P = 0.005). The level of MMP‑2 was much higher in the M5 subtype than in the other subtypes (P = 0.0001). There was no statistically significant d
... Show MoreThe oil and gas production industry is considered the most important industries in the modern world because of its large relative significance among the group of energy recourses required for the world, where the natural resources represent the oil and natural gas fields, phosphate, gold, coal, forests and others. The most important advantage of the natural resources is its need for huge financial investments for a relatively long period of time from the beginning of the work until the start of extracting natural resources. Also, there are numerous cases where the natural source is not feasible exploited economically and is not discovered until after the passage of a long period of time from the start of work and paying relatively high a
... Show MoreOptoelectronic devices, widely used in high energy and nuclear physics applications, suffer severe radiation damage that leads to degradations in its efficiency. In this paper, the influence of gamma radiation (137Ce source) and beta radiation (90Sr source) on the photoelectric parameters of the Si solar cell, based on the I–V characterization at different irradiation exposer, has been studied. The penetrating radiation produces defects in the base material, may be activated during its lifetime, becoming traps for electron–hole pairs produced optically and, this will, decrease the efficiency of the solar cell. The main objective of the paper is to study and measure changes in the I–V characteristics of solar cells, such as efficienc
... Show MoreThe relation between anemia and inflammatory immune response has lately had much attention. This research was conducted from October 2018 until April 2019, including (110) children below 12 years from both gender in some Hospitals, Primary Health care centers, Public Primary Schools and Kindergarten in Baghdad, Iraq. The objective of this study is to determine the possible correlation between iron deficiency anemia and inflammatory immune response among children infected with Entamoeba histolytica or Giardia lamblia. Blood samples were taken from all groups to measure hemoglobin level, serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration
... Show MoreA Spectroscopic study has been focused in this article to study one of the main types of active galaxies which are quasars, and to be more precise this research focuses on studying the correlation between the main engine of Quasi-Stellar Objects (QSO), the central black hole mass (SMBH) and other physical properties (e.g. the star formation rate (SFR)). Twelve objects have been randomly selected for “The Half Million Quasars (HMQ) Catalogue” published in 2015 and the data collected from Salon Digital Sky survey (SDSS) Dr. 16. The redshift range of these galaxies were between (0.05 – 0.17). The results show a clear linear proportionality between the SMBH and the SFR, as well as direct proportional between the luminosit
... Show MoreMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory demyelinating disease of central nervous system with complex etiopathogenesis that impacts young adults (Lee et al., 2015), and MS impacts younger and middle aged character and leads to a range of disabilities that can alter their daily routines (Yara et al, 2010). Although, the exact cause of MS is still undetermined, the disease is mediated by adaptive immunity through the infiltration of T cells into the central nervous system (Bjelobaba et al, 2017). MS causes the Focal neurological symptomsand biochemical changes in the molecular level and the variation of neural cells such as loss or alteration of sensation, motor function, visible signs such as blurred vision or transient blindness,
... Show MoreBackground: The styloid process is a cylindrical bone (protrusion). It situated above the common carotid artery between the external and internal branches immediately proximal to the internal jugular vein and facial nerves. The styloid process varies in length also it may be absent as well as elongated. Classically, an elongated styloid process and calcified of stylohyoid ligament causes Eagle’s syndrome. The aim of this study was to examine the styloid process using 3 dimensional multi-detector computed tomography (3D-MDCT) to detect the presence of Eagle’s syndrome that causes severe headache and migraine. Materials and methods: One hundred patients with severe headache and migraine were exposed to 3D- multi-detector CT with special
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