Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, immune mediated disease of the central nervous system, mostly affecting young adults with mean age of 30 years, twice as high in women compared to men. The etiology of MS is not fully elucidated. MS symptoms are directly related to demyelination and axonal loss, along with other psychological symptoms, can result in functional limitations, disability and reduced quality of life (QoL). The QoL assessments in patients with a chronic disease may contribute to improving treatment and could even be of prognostic value. The goals of this study were to compare the QoL of Iraqi patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS),using three different diseases modifying therapies(DMTs) administered orally, subcutaneously, and by slow infusion; namely, fingolimod,interferonB-1b, and natalizumab, respectively. And to assess the role of disability status, educational status, occupational status, MS duration, and treatment duration as a predictor for the QoL. Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) questionnaire version 4 was used to assess QoL. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were tested by univariate and multivariate regression analyses to assess the contribution of these predictors to QoL. No significant differences were found in symptoms, thinking/fatigue subscales and FAMS total scores among the three DMTs. In conclusion: Iraqi MS patients using InterferonB-1b, fingolimod or natalizumab have a comparable low level of QoL. The expanded disability status scale (EDSS) is negatively associated with QoL of MS patients in all of the three therapies, while other predictors such as occupational status, educational status, smoking habit and MS duration have different impact in different treatments.
Substance use disorders are a widely recognized problem among hepatitis C-infected patients; moreover, substance abuse by intravenous injection is a common mode of transmission of the hepatitis C virus worldwide. The frequency of substance use disorders and their relation to hepatitis C infection are still unknown in Iraq. This cross-sectional study, conducted among a sample of hepatitis C- infected patients attending the Gastrointestinal Tract Center in Baghdad Medical City, aimed to examine the prevalence of substance use disorders, the sociodemographic characteristics of the abusers, and the relation between intravenous
Abstract: Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are the most common bacterial infection in humans and a major cause of morbidity and they are the most common cause of hospital visits worldwide. Proper knowledge in identifying factors associated with urinary tract infection may allow the intervention to easily control of the disease in a timely manner. Therefore, the purpose of the study is determining the prevalence of UTI, diagnosis of causative bacterial agents and identifying the factors associated to the urinary tract infection among patients attending Medical City Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. A total of 237, morning mid-stream urine samples were collected aseptically and the samples were diagnosed according to the standard methods. I
... Show MoreAnaemia is a common extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) where anaemia of chronic disease (ACD) and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) are the two most frequent types. The distinction between these two types of anaemia has always been challenging requiring sophisticated techniques. Serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) a truncated soluble form of the transferrin receptor is one of the parameters that is influenced by the Iron content and supply to the erythrons and is not affected by inflammatory status and therefore the use of the sTfR/log ferritin (sTfR-F) index can be a reliable indicator of functional iron deficiency.
This study aimed to identify the quality of the career path and its relation to organizational excellence at King Khalid University in the Faculty of Business from the point of view of the faculty members by identifying the dimensions quality of work-life including (participation of decision making, training and development opportunities, and the balance between personal and work life, and to identify the level of organizational excellence through dimensions ( Excellence of leadership, excellence of the strategy, and excellence of organizational culture). The descriptive approach was used. The questionnaire was a research tool. It consisted of (29) paragraphs, distributed to the entire study community and then received 127
... Show MoreThe present investigation focuses on the response of simply supported reinforced concrete rectangular-section beams with multiple openings of different sizes, numbers, and geometrical configurations. The advantages of the reinforcement concrete beams with multiple opening are mainly, practical benefit including decreasing the floor heights due to passage of the utilities through the beam rather than the passage beneath it, and constructional benefit that includes the reduction of the self-weight of structure resulting due to the reduction of the dead load that achieves economic design. To optimize beam self-weight with its ultimate resistance capacity, ten reinforced concrete beams having a length, width, and depth of 2700, 100, and
... Show MoreSix isolates of A. pullulans were collected from many sources including Hibiscus sabdariffa (Roselle), old Roofs of houses and bathroom surface that referred as Ap ros1, Ap or2, 3, 4 and Ap bs5, 6 respectively, all these isolates were identified based on morphological characteristics and nutritional physiology profiles, all were able to utilize various carbon and nitrogen sources such as glucose, xylose, sucrose, maltose, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride, also they showed positive test for starch and amylase, while α-cellulose, ethanol, and methanol were could not be ass
... Show MoreBackground: Acute radiodermatitis is a common side effect during and after radiotherapy course in breast cancer patients treated by radiotherapy. This study assess the frequency of acute radiodermatitis and record the predictive factors for acute radiodermatitis. Patients and Methods: A descriptive case series study conducted at Baghdad, Iraq from August 2020 to September 2021. 70 female scheduled for radiotherapy sessions enrolled in this study. sociodemographic data were recorded and Skin examination before radiotherapy and weekly till the end of the radiotherapy sessions was done to report the frequency, risk factors, clinical picture and grades of acute radiodermatitis based on The National Cancer Institute’s Common Terminology Crite
... Show MoreFood fortification has an important and necessary role in compensating for the shortage of nutritional micronutrients, especially in developing and least developed countries. So, 12 samples of flour available in the local market, whether imported or locally produced flour, were obtained during 2019. The amount of base metal of the necessary iron element in the flour models studied which are available in local markets, measured by spot testing and was compared with the values that should be added according to the specification Iraqi standard. Results revealed the qualitative evaluation of iron in locally produced flour does not conform to the Iraqi standard and is almost free of any reinforcement. While the percentage of imp
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