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.
Background: Indeterminate colitis (IC), a term
originated by pathologists to characterize confounding
histopathlogic appearance of resected mucosa, has
become catch phrase for cases in which diagnostic
criteria at all levels elude classification as Crohn's
disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC).
OBJECTIVES: evaluate the prevalence of pANCA
expression in the sera and its isotypes.
Patients and methods: PATIENTS GROUP
consisted of 60 patients (40 males and 20 females)
with indeterminate colitis and their age range was (19-
84 years). CONTROL GROUP consisted of 30 (15
males and 15 females) healthy volunteers and their
age range was (20- 66 years).
Antineutrophil cytoplasmic ( pANCA and cANCA)
te
This study aims to develop a thermosensitive mucoadhesive periodontal in situ gel of secnidazole for local release of drug for treatment of periodontitis, in order to increase the drug residence time and to increase patient compliance while lowering the side effects of the drug.
Cold method was used to prepare 30 formulas of secnidazole periodontal in situ gel, using different concentrations of thermosensitive polymers (poloxamer407 alone or in combination with poloxamer 188) and methyl cellulose (MC ) or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC K4M )in different concentrations used as mucoadhesive polymer and the resultant formulations were subjected to several tests such as gelation temperature GT, appearance and pH value. The fo
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(2)
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Free cement refractory concrete is a type of refractory concrete with replacing alumina cement by bonding materials such as white kaolin, red kaolin and fumed silica. The free cement refractory concrete used in many applications like Petrochemicals, iron furnaces and cement production industries. The research clarifies the effect of steel fibers with two types crimped steel fibers and hooked steel
fibers with percentages 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% by volume from weight of bauxite aggregates. The additions of steel fibers with two types gave good properties in high temperatures where the specimens keep the dimension without failure and the properties made the best. the percentage of increasing for thermal conductivity was 44% for 1.5% crimped
(2)
This study illustrates in vitro effect of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) on the treatment of Leishmania. In addition, the study evaluated the effect of drug treatment (pentostam) and the combination treatment of pentostan and CAP at different doses and incubation time 24 h in order to assess the most effective treatment. The duration of the cold plasma doses was 1 min, 2 min and 3 min, while the pentostam doses were 2.5 µg/ml and 5 µg/ml. The combinations therapies included combining the three cold plasma doses with the pentostam doses to test 6 combinations of treated in vitro. The maximum growth inhibition was given by combination treated 46% and 44% for donovani and tropica leishamnia respectively; these results give an indi
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Isolation had been done for active substances from Thyme plant (Thymus Vulgaris) such as volatile oils, Saponins and Tannins. The percentage in form was (21.1%),(59.2%),( 9.7%) respectively. Also a study of anti-bacterial activity of extracts from Thyme using two types of pathogenic bacteria Escherichia Coli and aurous Staphylococcus showed the ability of inhibition for all different extracts by vary inhibition diameters for different active substances, concentrations and bacteria. One type of cancer cellular line used to study the effect of Thyme extracts on the growth of cells in the laboratory and thus know the specifications of extracts as anti-tumor, (L20B) cell line have been used which is mice Transformed cell Line. The possibility o
... Show MoreAn essential issue in obstetrics is the prevalence of maternal and fetal complications in pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of pregnancy complications among various phenotypes of pregnant women with PCOS.
This study investigated a novel application of forward osmosis (FO) for oilfield produced water treatment from the East Baghdad oilfield affiliated to the Midland Oil Company (Iraq). FO is a part of a zero liquid discharge system that consists of oil skimming, coagulation/flocculation, forward osmosis, and crystallization. Treatment of oilfield produced water requires systems that use a sustainable driving force to treat high-ionic-strength wastewater and have the ability to separate a wide range of contaminants. The laboratory-scale system was used to evaluate the performance of a cellulose triacetate hollow fiber CTA-HF membrane for the FO process. In this work, sodium chloride solution was used as a feed solution (FS) with a concentratio
... Show MoreStriae distensae SD or stretch mark are frequent skin lesion that cause considerable aesthetic concern. The 1064nm long pulsed Nd:YAG Laser has been used to promote an increase in dermal collagen and is known to be a Laser that has a high affinity to vascular chromphores. Also by using fractional CO2 Laser 10600nm as an effective modality in treatment of striae distensae SD. It works to stimulate fibroblast and enhance Collagen formation, which is important for newly generated skin tissue.
Objectives: This study aims to verify the efficacy of long pulsed Nd: YAG Laser (1064nm) in the treatment of immature striae distensae (SD) and the efficacy of C02 fractional Laser (10600nm) in treatment o
... Show MoreThis study investigated a novel application of forward osmosis using different types of draw solutions for oilfield produced water treatment from the East Baghdad oilfield affiliated to the Midland Oil Company (Iraq). Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) and magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) were used as draw solutions in forward osmosis process to evaluate their effectiveness. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory scale forward osmosis system with cellulose triacetate hollow fiber membrane. In this work, sodium chloride solution was used as a feed solution with a concentration of 76 g/L (same concentration as the East Baghdad oilfield produced water) and the applied external pressure on the feed solution side was 2 bar. The impact of draw solution (DS)
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