Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with polymorphic expression. B cells have an essential contribution in immune system activation via the production of different cytokines and functioning as potent antigen-presenting cells. Therefore, a drug that particularly targets B cells may represent an ideal therapeutic approach for SLE. Rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody causing transient B-cell depletion, has been used to manage SLE. This study aims to assess Rituximab effects on lupus nephritis (LN) patients when added to conventional immunosuppressants. Twenty four patients, 15-32 years old, with class III/IV/V LN were involved in this study. All were on steroids before lupus nephritis occurrence. They were given rituximab induction therapy and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) maintenance therapy. RTX was indicated for refractory and relapsing SLE. Several investigations done before and after RTX treatment and in the last follow up (done one year after starting Rituximab). Those included protein in urine, serum creatinine, double stranded DNA, C3, C4, and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR). Proteinuria decreased significantly after RTX treatment and in the last measurement (P=0.01 and P=0.001, respectively). Serum creatinine significantly decreased only in the last measurement (P=0.02). Double stranded DNA decreased remarkably after treatment (P=0.01) with a further decrease in the last measurement (P=0.006). C3 and C4 increased after treatment but the increase was significant only for C3 (P=0.002) and this increase continues till the last measurement (P=0.0006). Active urine sediments found in fifteen patients and disappeared after RTX treatment. Rituximab can be promising in treating lupus nephritis when used along with traditional immunosuppressants. It can reduce disease activity and improve renal function in such patients.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is the most frequent endocrinal disease commonly associated with thyroid disorders .The study is conducted at the Specialized Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes in Baghdad ,during December 2014 up to October 2015.This study was done to investigate the prevalence of anti- thyroid peroxidase (Anti-TPO) antibody in patients suffered from type 2 diabetes with thyroid disorders .The study groups included a total number of 80 subjects consisting of 60 type 2 diabetic patients divided into 20 hyperthyroidism subjects (group 1) ,20 hypothyroidism subjects (group 2), 20 euthyroidism subjects (group 3) and 20 healthy controls (group 4) . The fasting blood samples were analyzed for (T3,T4,TSH) by using Vitek Immuno d
... Show MoreDuring treatment of inflammatory diseases, many conventional therapies (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) used to relief pain and inflammation. Chronic use of the intended drugs is frequently associated with serious side effect, which may lead to discontinuation of treatment . The efficacy and dose- response effect of ammi majus extraxt (2 , 4, 8 , 16, and 32 mg/rat) were assessed using formalin to induce paw edema in rats as a model of chronic inflammation respectively. In this study, 42 rats were used and allocated into 7 groups each containing 6 rats, representing control (Distilled water) , standard (piroxicam ) and test extract ( 2 , 4 , 8 , 16 and 32 mg/rat of Ammi majus alcoholic e
... Show MoreThis article discusses how women have significant abilities to cope with the difficulties of war times. They are not the weak and vulnerable victims who are thought to be. On the contrary, they have the power to control over many-sided fronts, like participating in the battlefield as nurses or activists for peace, or even fighters, as well as through the tasks and responsibilities assigned to them to protect and support their families during wartime. The researcher will examine the impact of war upon women. Like men, women suffer during wartime. They are being injured, tortured and killed. Yet, they are able to give examples of love and courage even in the difficult times of war. Hana is one of those women who lived during wartimes,
... Show MoreDeception is an inseparable facet of political discourse in attaining strategic political gains though compromising public opinion. However, the employment of discursive deception strategies by the policy-making institutions of think tanks has not received due attention in the literature. The current study aims at exploring how the ideologizing deception strategies are utilized by the conservative American think tank of the Washington Institute to reproduce socio-political realities and re-shape public opinion. To fulfill this task, van Dijk’s (2000) notion of ideological polarization which shows positive self-representation and negative other representation is adopted to conduct a critical discourse analysis of four Arabic texts relea
... Show MoreRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with decreased antioxidant state .This study aim to investigate the status of oxidant/antioxidant in a sample of Iraqi patients with RA and the role of peroxynitrite and its natural scavenger uric acid in them .This case-controlled study was conducted at Baghdad teaching hospital /Baghdad from December 2010-May 2011 . Twenty-five patients with mean age 39 years and 25 apparently healthy subject as controls with mean age 29 years were included in the study .Investigations include estimation of serum levels of nitric oxide (NO) ,peroxynitrite (PN) , malondialdehyde (MDA) , and uric acid (UA) .Serum PN levels were significantly elevated in RA patients a
... Show MoreThe present work is qualitative descriptive. It aims to examine the idiosyncratic schema when deciphering the selected violence-based panel from Nasser Ibrahim’s caricatures. The researchers accordingly adopted part of Sharifian’s (2011) Cultural Schema model, particularly that part that is concerned with the examining the micro/idiosyncratic level of understanding. The study has revealed that the participants have not only differed among themselves regarding the way a figure is being denotatively conceptualized, they also highlighted different exact conceptualizations for the same figure, such as: using various adjectives that reflect various levels of intensity, emphasizing the behavioral aspect or the appearance of the figure, ado
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects mainly the synovial membranes and articular structures and is characterized by chronic, systemic inflammation involving multiple joints.Being a synovial joint, the Temporomandibular Joint is subject to the same disorders affecting other synovial joints, including RA.Beside it was considered as a specific serological marker for diagnosing RA disease ,antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide have proven to be associated with joints destruction, though; it may play a potential role in the prediction of the disease severity. Materials and Methods: Sixty nine individuals (69) were enrolled in this study, forty nine (49) were patients diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, a
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic kidney disease is a gradual loss of kidney function with diabetes and hypertension as the leading cause. Chronic kidney disease is one of these systemic diseases that can affect salivary contents. Aims: This study aimed to assess salivary immunoglobulin A, interleukin-6 and C- reactive protein in chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis and those on conservative treatment in comparison with control subjects. Materials and methods: Ninety subjects were included in this study divided into three groups: 30 patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis for at least 6 months ago; 30 patients with chronic kidney disease on conservative treatment and 30 healthy control subjects. Secretory immunoglobulin A, inte
... Show MoreEvaluating treatment effect on interferon-alpha in female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a case-control study