Breast cancer constitutes about one fourth of the registered cancer cases among the Iraqi population (1)
and it is the leading cause of death among Iraqi women (2)
. Each year more women are exposed to the vicious
ramifications of this disease which include death if left unmanaged or the negative sequels that they would
experience, cosmetically and psychologically, after exposure to radical mastectomy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) documented that early detection and screening, when coped
with adequate therapy, could offer a reduction in breast cancer mortality; displaying that the low survival rates
in less developed countries, including Iraq, is mainly attributed to the lack of early detection programs coupled
with inadequate diagnostic and treatment facilities (3)
. Although mammography machines, as main screening
tools for breast cancer, are available in the major hospitals in each province in Iraq, yet those are mainly used
for diagnostic purposes in patients who present with palpable breast lumps. Obviously, due to cost effective
measures, lack of resources and the economical challenges that Iraq is facing, it is not expected that the
authorities could provide mammography devices across every health care centre in the country to be used for
screening of all Iraqi women.
Accordingly, promoting other feasible tools could support in solving that dilemma. Clinical Breast
Examination (CBE) for women, by highly trained health care providers in Primary Health Care Centers, along
with diagnostic mammography in the major hospitals for referred cases, could offer cost effective approaches
for early detection of breast cancer in Iraq. The resources required to provide these services are within the
reach of all countries with limited resources
(4)
.
The issue of raising awareness on breast cancer and its early detection measures needs to be addressed.
Observations reported in Iraqi studies obviously reflect the the limited knowledge of the general population
about the disease, its preventive measures and their ignorance regarding the significance of CBE and early
medical consultation (5, 6)
. Public health awareness campaigns should be endorsed by policy makers to encourage every Iraqi women to look for abnormal signs and symptoms in their breasts and to seek medical
advice promptly.
Background: Coronavirus, which causes respiratory illness, has been a public health issue in recent decades. Because the clinical symptoms of infection are not always specific, it is difficult to expose all suspects to qualitative testing in order to confirm or rule out infection as a test. Methods: According to the scientific studies and investigations, seventy-three results of scientific articles and research were obtained using PubMed, Medline, Research gate and Google Scholar. The research keywords used were COVID-19, coronavirus, blood parameters, and saliva. Results: This review provides a report on the changes in the blood and saliva tests of those who are infected with the COVID-19.COVID-19 is a systemic infection that has
... Show MoreThe most prevalent chronic complication of diabetes mellitus is diabetic neuropathy. The pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy is exacerbated by hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress, which causes nerves to deteriorate in a programmed manner. Many clinical trials depend on supplement in an attempt to improve neuropathy symptoms such as (pain & tingling) and patient quality of life, one of them is Coenzyme Q10 which is reported to have an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and was totally nontoxic and non-reported side effects. This study aimed to evaluate using a Coenzyme Q10 supplement as an adjuvant therapy to gabapentin to improve the clinical symptoms of diabetic neuropathy in relation to its anti-inflammatory and antioxid
... Show MoreThe high carbon dioxide emission levels due to the increased consumption of fossil fuels has led to various environmental problems. Efficient strategies for the capture and storage of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide are crucial in reducing their concentrations in the environment. Considering this, herein, three novel heteroatom-doped porous-organic polymers (POPs) containing phosphate units were synthesized in high yields from the coupling reactions of phosphate esters and 1,4-diaminobenzene (three mole equivalents) in boiling ethanol using a simple, efficient, and general procedure. The structures and physicochemical properties of the synthesized POPs were established using various techniques. Field emission scanning elect
... Show MoreCoronavirus 2 is the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which leads to severe acute respiratory illness. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been linked to leukocyte infiltration and chemokine activation during inflammatory responses. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP) family are thought to dampen the proinflammatory effects of these MMPs. The molecular pathways of lung fibrosis are mediated by MMPs and TIMPs. In this study, we sought to investigate the probable link between MMPs, specifically MMP-3, TIMP-2, and COVID-19. The study included 58 COVID-19 patients and 30 apparently healthy individuals matched in terms of age and sex. Multiplex real- time PCR was used to detect the ORF1ab, E, and N genes of
... Show MoreAqueous extract of poppy plant) Papaver nudicaule) with five concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200 and 250) mg/l were used to anesthetize fingerlings of the common carp Cyprinus carpio (Mean total length 8.91 ± 0.31 cm and mean total weight 7.72 ± 1.19 gm) instead of the traditional use of MS-222. Results showed that extracted solution of poppy have partial and overall anesthesia effect on these fishes with inverse relationship between the concentrations used and the time needed to reach partial and overall anesthesia, and also direct relationship between concentrations used and time needed for fish recovery. Best results were obtained by using a concentration of 250 mg/l, where time for partial anesthesia was 8 ± 1.52 m
... Show MoreEducation around the world has been negatively affected by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Many institutions had to transition to distance learning in compliance with the enforced safety measures. Distance learning might work well for settings with stable internet connections, professional technical teams, and basic implementation of technology in education. In contrast, distance learning faces serious challenges in less fortunate settings with inferior infrastructure. This report aims to shed light on the immediate action steps taken at a leading pharmacy school in Iraq to accommodate for the enforced changes in pharmacy education. The University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy went from less than minimal technology impl
... Show MoreThe effects of temperature on an exotic aquatic snail Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck, 1819) collected from the Shatt Al-Arab intertidal zone were investigated. A series of laboratory experiments were conducted during the summer period of 2017. Individuals of new born snails hatched in the laboratory from adult snails were collected from Shatt Al-Arab intertidal zone, and subjected to five fixed temperatures: 15, 25, 35, 40 and 45 Cº, after short term thermal acclimation. The heartbeats (HB) were counted at each temperature level. The results showed significant direct increase of HB from 15 Cº (19.8 HB/min) up to 25 Cº (76 HB/min) (P<0.05) as well as from 25 Cº to 35 Cº (93 HB/min). At 40 Cº the snail HB
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