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.
Three hundred and fifty five patients with hepatitis were investigated in this study all cases gave negative result with HBs Ag , IgM-anti HCV , IgM-anti HEV, IgM-anti HDV and anti-HIV tests . The frequency of IgM-anti HAV was 113 and the percentage was 32 % in all ages but when these patients divided into five groups dependent on ages. The highest percentage of IgM-anti HAV was (45%) in age <10 and the percentage declined with age increase till to 9% in age >41 year.
Background: While two-thirds of breast cancers express hormone receptors for either estrogen (ER) and/or progesterone (PR) , genetically altered PI3K pathway was found in more than 70% of ER-positive breast cancers.An aberrant activity of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) in a wide variety of human cancers has selectively constituted an attractive pharmacological targets in MYC-dependent human breast cancer cells.
Aim of the study: Role of p110-beta as well as and CDK 1 in the pathogenesis of subset of breast cancers and contribution in their carcinogenesis.
Type of the study: is a retrospective study
Methods: This retr
... Show MoreIn this paper a system is designed and implemented using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) to move objects from a pick up location to a delivery location. This transportation of objects is done via a vehicle equipped with a robot arm and an FPGA. The path between the two locations is followed by recognizing a black line between them. The black line is sensed by Infrared sensors (IR) located on the front and on the back of the vehicle. The Robot was successfully implemented by programming the Field Programmable Gate Array with the designed system that was described as a state diagram and the robot operated properly.
This paper investigated the treatment of textile wastewater polluted with aniline blue (AB) by electrocoagulation process using stainless steel mesh electrodes with a horizontal arrangement. The experimental design involved the application of the response surface methodology (RSM) to find the mathematical model, by adjusting the current density (4-20 mA/cm2), distance between electrodes (0.5-3 cm), salt concentration (50-600 mg/l), initial dye concentration (50-250 mg/l), pH value (2-12 ) and experimental time (5-20 min). The results showed that time is the most important parameter affecting the performance of the electrocoagulation system. Maximum removal efficiency (96 %) was obtained at a current density of 20 mA/cm2, distance be
... Show MoreCeruloplasmin (Cp) is one of the acute phase protein, in this review ,we studied the level of ceruloplasmin with copper (Cu) and iron in 90 patients with coronary heart diseas ( those patients are divided into three groups, whom are stable angina , unstable angina and myocardial infarction compared with 30 healthy volunteers) and the roles of them as diagnostic and prognostic tools.The diagnosis was attend by a clinical examination carried out by the consult medical staff in Ibn AL-Nafis hospital. The result: ceruloplasmin recorded a significantly(p<0.05)higher level in all patient groups compared with the control, so this result supports the hypothesis that a high serum ceruloplasmin level is a risk factor for coronary heart di
... Show MoreBackground: Dental calculus is mineralized dental plaque formed on teeth and dental prosthesis surfaces in the oral cavity. Urinary stone is a crystal aggregation formed in urinary system due to minerals saturation present in urine. The structure of dental calculus is similar to that of urinary stone. Objective: To assess oral hygiene and gingival status in patients with urinary stone. And compared with healthy subjects. Patients and Methods: Sixty participants, 25-40 years, were involved in this study who were divided into study and control group. The study group involved patients with urinary stone while the control group involved healthy subjects. Clinical parameters including plaque, calculus and gingival indices were recorded for al
... Show MoreBackground: Quality of life in brain tumor patients is an emerging issue and has prompted neurosurgeons to recon¬sider the need for cognitive assessment in the course of treatment. To date there has been a lack of comprehensive neuropsychological assessment performed preoperatively and in the acute postoperative period in our hospitals.Objectives: to establish the effects of tumors and their surgical treatment, from a neuropsychological perspective, on cognitive functioning in patients with cerebral Gliomas. Methods: This is a prospective study conducted in the Neurosurgical Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, during the period from January 1999 to January 2001. Any patient admitted during the period of the study with clinical history, signs, sy
... Show MoreHematological malignancies are important diseases that need more powerful therapeutics. Even with current targeting therapies, such as rituximab and other chemotherapeutic agents, there is a need to develop new treatment strategies. Combination therapy seems the best option to target the tumor cells by different mechanisms. Virotherapy is a very promising treatment modality, as it is selective, safe, and causes cancer destruction. The Iraqi strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has proved to be effective both in vitro and in vivo. In the current work, we tested its ability on anti-hematological tumors and enhanced current treatments with combination therapy, and studied this combination using Chou–Talalay analysis. p53 concentration was
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