Background: Diabetes mellitus a major factor that has adverse effects on the vascular system and the heart. It causes an increase in cardiac muscle thickness, resulting in decreased compliance and increased peripheral arterial stiffness. This study aims to assess the left ventricular mass (LVM) and left ventricular hemodynamic changes in diabetic patients measured by Doppler echocardiography. Patients and Methods: The study included 50 diabetic patients ranging in age between 25 and 80 years, (mean age: 54.1 ± 15.10, 19 males, 31 females) and 50 healthy subjects, aged 25 to 80 years (mean age: 48.52 ± 14.45, 11 males, 39 females). Doppler echocardiography was used to assess left ventricular function. The measurements included

Background: Oral mucositis is regarded as one of the major complications of radiation therapy especially in patients with head and neck cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of glutamine in preventing or minimizing the development of mucositis of the oral cavity. Subjects and methods: Forty-six participants were randomly selected amongst those who were planned to receive radiation therapy for head and neck region cancers. They were randomly divided into two groups of 23 subjects, one group received glutamine and the second group received a placebo. Results: Glutamine had a statistically significant effect in reducing the occurrence and/or severity of oral mucositis in the treated patients compared to patients in the con

Abstract Background: Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is an angioproliferative neoplastic disorder that occurs in different epidemiological forms. Human Herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) is established as a causative agent of KS that has been mentioned in textbooks and literature. In the last two decades, KS cases were up searched through many Iraqi medical researches which have been published, but unfortunately, none of which had confirmed this association. Objectives: To assess the association of latent nuclear antigen-1(LANA-1) of HHV-8 among KS patients with clinicopathological parameters and to evaluate if this procedure is valuable for diagnosing this disease through the first immunohistochemical study in Iraq. Methods: This is a clinico-immunohis

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) represents one kind of advanced arthritis formed via inflammatory stimuli long-term in the spin‘s joints. Interleukin (IL)-29 (interferon- lambda1(IFN- λ1)), interleukin (IL)-28A (interferon- lambda 2 (IFN- λ2)) and interleukin (IL)-28B (interferon- lambda 3(IFN-λ3)) are three interferon lambda (IFN- λs) molecules that have recently been identified as new members of the IFN family. IL-28B expression in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is not well understood. 150 male healthy controls ((HC) and 160 males with AS as patients group participated in this study. Serum level and gene polymorphism were assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Sanger sequencing for IL-28B, respectively. The results showed

  Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women over the world. To reducing reoccurrence and mortality rates, adjuvant hormonal therapy (AHT) is used for a long period. The major barrier to the effectiveness of the treatment is adherence. Adherence to medicines among patients is challenging. Patient beliefs in medications can be positively or negatively correlated to adherence. Objectives: To investigate the extent of adherence and factors affecting adherence, as well as to investigate the association between beliefs and adherence in women with breast cancer taking AHT. Method: A cross-sectional study included 124 Iraqi women with breast cancer recruited from Middle Euphrates

This study included 46 patients with liver hydatid cyst diagnosed clinically and surgically. Control group consist of 22 healthy volunteers. The patients were divided according to the size of the cysts into more and less than 5 cm diameter size, 33 and 13, respectively. Also they were divided into primary and secondary hydatid cyst infection, 30 and 16, respectively. Significant increase of GOT, GPT and ALP levels were recorded due to hydatid cyst infection and had direct effect on the liver function, beside an increase in total bilirubin in patients serum compared with the control, also the same occurred in the secondary infection compared with primary infection, patients with> 5 cm showed significant increase in the above levels compared

Background: Neutrophils destroy pathogens via phagocytosis. Neutrophils are effective innate and acquired immunity phagocytes. Low-density neutrophils are distinct neutrophil phenotypes linked to several systemic and infectious diseases. To our knowledge, low-density neutrophil phagocytosis in periodontitis has not been examined. Opsonized and non-opsonized fluorescent beads mixed with low-density neutrophils were gated and analyzed by flow cytometry to count cells that consumed at least one bead.

Aims of the Study: To estimate the potential impact of antibody (Ab)-labeled and non-labeled phagocytosis capacity of low-d

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of listening to music or Quran in reducing cancer patients’ anxiety before chemotherapy administration. Reducing anxiety in people with cancer, prior to chemotherapy administration, is a crucial goal in nursing care.

Gastrointestinal diseases and especially chronic gastritis are mainly induced by Helicobacter pylori infection, and provides the basis for gastric carcinogenesis and colorectal cancer. The study involved the detection of serum anti-H. pylori IgG and IgA antibody of  and some serum biomarkers ;CEA and CA19-9 in patients with gastrointestinal diseases. Fifty eight serum samples were collected from 25 males and 33 females .Peripheral venous blood was collected from each patient and sera obtained  by centrifugation. Serum anti-H. pylori IgG and IgA ,serum CEA and  CA19-9 were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assays (ELISA).Forty eight serum samples were positive for IgG (82.7% ) divided int