Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most frequent endocrine illnesses affecting reproductive - age women. L-carnitine has important roles in oxidative stress, energy production and glucose metabolism. It affects insulin resistance as decreased plasma carnitine level has been well reported in type II diabetes mellitus. Hence, it means L-carnitine may reduce insulin resistance which is found in PCO disease. Objective: This study aims to measure the level of L-carnitine and insulin resistance in both obese and non- obese patients with PCOS. Patients and Methods: Sixty women within the reproductive age with PCOS (30 obese and 30 non- obese) were recruited from the Gynecology and Obstetrics Outpatient Clinic in Baghdad Teaching Hospital from June 2016 to June 2017. The data collected for each case included: Height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, obstetrical, medical, and medication history as well as ultrasound results. A physical examination was done to evaluate the clinical signs of hyperandrogenism. Biochemical measurements included fasting blood sugar, leutinizing hormone, follicular stimulating hormone, Testosterone and lipid profile were measured together with total L-carnitine (using L-Carnitine Assay Kit Sigma-Aldrich Co.). Insulin resistance was diagnosed according to National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III). PCOS is diagnosed according to the Rotterdam criteria. Results: This study revealed that insulin resistance (IR) was present in 51.7% of PCOS patients, which was higher in obese PCOS patients (73.3%) than in the non-obese (30%). Age of patients, serum cholesterol, LH, and FSH were not related to IR. High mean BMI, waist circumference, FBS and triglyceride were significantly associated with IR (p < 0.05), while low serum HDL and L-Carnitine were associated with IR (p < 0.05). The mean serum total L-carnitine in this study was 34.03μmol/L. Obese women had lower carnitine levels than non-obese women and low serum L-Carnitine was associated with IR. Serum triglyceride, FBS and testosterone were correlated negatively with serum L-carnitine (p < 0.05) and serum HDL correlated positively with serum L-carnitine (p value = 0.001). Conclusions: The mean value of serum total L-carnitine among the non-obese PCOS women was higher than among the obese ones. Low serum L-carnitine is associated with insulin resistance
T-cell activation and alteration of cytokine levels are involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. However, the profile of circulating T-lymphocyte subsets and related cytokines during asthmatic attacks is still unclear. We compared the serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines Interleukine-18( IL-18) and Interleukine-12(IL-12), T-helper 2 (Th2) cytokine Interleukine-13(IL-13 ) and Immunoglobuline-E ( IgE) in 27 asthmatic children and 21 sex and age matched healthy control subjects. Serum cytokines and IgE concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum IL-13 , IL-18 and IgE concentrations were significantly higher in asthmatic patients than normal control subjects ( IL-13: median 9.73 versus 4.43 pg/ml, P&l
... Show MoreBackground: Economic Globalization affects work condition by increasing work stress. Chronic work stress ended with burnout syndrome.
Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of burnout syndrome and the association of job title, and violence with it among physicians in Baghdad, and to assess the burnout syndrome at patient and work levels by structured interviews.
Subjects and Methods: A cross section study was conducted on Physicians in Baghdad. Sampling was a multistage, stratified sampling to control the confounders in the design phase. A mixed qualitative and quantitative
... Show MoreBackground: Economic Globalization affects work condition by increasing work stress. Chronic work stress ended with burnout syndrome. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of burnout syndrome and the association of job title, and violence with it among physicians in Baghdad, and to assess the burnout syndrome at patient and work levels by structured interviews. Subjects and Methods: A cross section study was conducted on Physicians in Baghdad. Sampling was a multistage, stratified sampling to control the confounders in the design phase. A mixed qualitative and quantitative approach (triangulation) was used. Quantitative method used self-administered questionnaires of Maslach Burn out Inventory. Qualitative approach used an open-end
... Show MoreBack ground:-Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic disease characterized by progressive, erosive and chronic poly arthritis, where cellular proliferation of the synoviocytes and neo-angiogenesis leads to formation of pannus which destroys the articular cartilage and the bone .
Objective :-to evaluate theOxidative Stress index( OSI )by measuring malondialdehide( MDA) and Total Antioxidant Capacity( TAC) in serum of RA patients in addition to uric acid and albumin and to investigate the alteration in these parameters compared to healthy individuals.
Patients and Methods :- twenty five patients with rheumatoid arithritis and twenty five apparen
... Show MoreThis research aims to clarify the conceptual framework of social entrepreneurship shows the importance of the development of social entrepreneurship according to the contextual aspects and the social value achieved from these works. It also identifies the degree of level of a sample of women entrepreneurs in Iraq for the extent of the relationship between social entrepreneurship and women's empowerment. It also explains the impact of entrepreneurial work in empowering women and the extent to which there are individual differences between the average scores of the sample members’ estimation of the level of social entrepreneurship according to social status, age group, educational qualification, and specialization according to the s
... Show MoreA case-control study was designed to find out the association between rs2234671 polymorphism of cxcr1 and rUTI in a sample of Iraqi women by polymerase chain reaction- sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) method. The current findings revealed that the genotype GC (OR= 7.86, 95% CI = 2.82-21.87, P= 7.7 × 10-5) and the C allele (OR= 3.93, 95% CI = 1.97 - 7.83, P = 9.8×10-5) are significantly associated with rUTI. However, the genotype GG played as a protective factor (OR= 0.12, 95% CI = 10.05 - 0.34, P = 4.0 ×10-5). Depending on these findings, the genotype GC is significantly associated with rUTI.
Background: Glycemic control and prevention of secondary complications are the most important aims of using pharmacological treatments in diabetes mellitus. Due to the high incidence of inadequate response to insulin and, we try to evaluate the effects of adjunct use of silymarin with insulin on glycemic control, lipid profile and renal function in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients.
Patients and Methods: Placebo-controlled, doubled blinded clinical trial method is utilized through which 60 type 1 DM patients allocated into two groups, 30 patients treated with insulin and silymarin 400 mg/day in two divided doses, while the other 30 patients treated with insulin and placebo for 60 days. Fasting serum gluco
There is substantial data supporting the importance of both endogenous and exogenous estrogen in maintaining reproductive health and preventing chronic disease, androgens in women's health are rarely discussed. This is one of the first researches to investigate correlates of blood testosterone concentrations in women with osteopenia, in anticipation of the growing interest in the role of androgens in women's health. A 65 volunteer women were enrolled in the current study, they were divided into two groups, 35 postmenopausal women with osteopenia were in the first group, and the second group contained 30 postmenopausal women without osteopenia as a control. Blood samples were collected from all participants and analyzed for testosterone l
... Show MoreRecent accumulated evidences suggest that prolactin is an important immunomodulator and may have a role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of hyperprolactinemia in women with SLE and to evaluate its correlation with disease flares. Serum prolactin levels were measured in 62 women with SLE and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. In patients and control groups prolactin levels were determined by immunoradiometric assay (IRMA). The prolactin level was found to be higher than normal rang in (40.3%) of SLE patients in active stage versus only (8.06%) of the same SLE patients but in the inactive stage and in (4%) of control group, the elevation was ranging between mi
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