Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease which affects nutritional status of the patients. The presence of poor nutritional status in pulmonary tuberculosis patients has been one of the most important determining factor in recommending adjuvant nutrient therapy to prevent oxidative stress and further complication.
Objective: This study was designed to assess the nutritional status and body mass index of pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
Patients and methods: During the period 1st of June 2010 to 30th of May 2011, a prospective study was done on 60 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis and 60 controls.
Levels of total protein (TP), albumin (ALB.), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high dens

Background: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most commonly encountered valve lesion in modern clinical practice. Severe mitral regurgitation may cause systolic dysfunction. Left ventricular ejection fraction may not be an accurate measurement of LV function in patients with mitral insufficiency. Myocardial performance index (MPI) is a simple non invasive measure of myocardial function. Methods: The study involved 50 patients with valvular mitral regurgitation and 50 healthy subjects as a control group. Transthoracic echocardiography was carried out for all patients and control group. The echocardiographic measurements included left ventricular end diastolic and end systolic dimensions, left atrial diameter, ejection fraction (EF), and myoca

Background : The contribution of diastolic dysfunction in patients with preserved left ventricular (LV) systolic function to impaired functional status and cardiac mortality in myocardial infarction (MI) is unknown.
Materials and Methods : Assessment of LV diastolic function was performed by Doppler analysis of the mitral and pulmonary venous flow and the propagation velocity of early mitral flow by color M-mode Doppler echocardiography in 150 consecutive patients at day 5-7 following their first acute MI.
Results : Patients were classified into four groups: group A: preserved LV systolic and diastolic function (n=59); group B: LV systolic dysfunction with preserved diastolic function (n=8); group C: LV diastolic dysfunction with

Background: Inflammation contributes across the spectrum of cardiovascular disease, including the earliest steps in atherogenesis. Myocardial Infarction (MI) is most commonly due to occlusion (blockage) of a coronary artery following the rupture of a vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. It has been suggested that the adipose tissue may play an important role in mediating this chronic inflammatory process, human resistin, is a 12.5-kDa protein, it found in the inflammatory zone. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine, it secreted by T cells and macrophages to stimulate immune response. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein found in the blood, the levels of CRP rise in response to inflammation.

Background: Myocardial Infarction (MI) is most commonly due to occlusion (blockage) of a coronary artery following the rupture of a vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. It has been suggested that the adipose tissue may play an important role in mediating this chronic inflammatory process. Inflammatory responses are involved in the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic plaques. Resistin is a cysteine-rich polypeptide that is expressed at relatively lower levels in human adipocytes but higher levels in macrophages. Insulin is an important hormone as it regulates the level of glucose, in the blood. This protein is formed in specialized cells of the pancreas called beta islet cells.
Subjects and Methods:The study included 50 patient

Image quality has been estimated and predicted using the signal to noise ratio (SNR). The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and SNR measurements in PET imaging using patient studies with liver cancer. Three groups of 59 patients (24 males and 35 females) were divided according to BMI. After intravenous injection of 0.1 mCi of 18F-FDG per kilogram of body weight, PET emission scans were acquired for (1, 1.5, and 3) min/bed position according to the weight of patient. Because liver is an organ of homogenous metabolism, five region of interest (ROI) were made at the same location, five successive slices of the PET/CT scans to determine the mean uptake (signal) values and its standard deviat

Background: Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease globally. Trace elements such as copper and zinc have a role in many biochemical reactions as micro source, their metabolism is profoundly altered in neoplastic diseases especially breast cancer which is ranked as the first of female cancers
Objective: The aim of the present study is to study the impact of body mass index and some trace elements in Iraqi women with breast cancer.
Patients and methods: The group of the study consisted of 25 breast cancer patients; their age range was (25–65) years recruited from the Al-Kadhimia Teaching Hospital and 25 apparently healthy women age matched, over a period of 6 months from January 2015 until June 2015. After the diagnosis wa

Background: Gestational hypertension represents a transient period of elevated blood pressure with  special effects on the maternal left ventricle that is different from the effects observed in chronic essential   hypertension; it affects a previously normal heart and lasts for a maximum of nine months associated with   volume and pressure overload on the maternal heart. Tei index (also called myocardial performance index)   was found to be a dependent combined index evaluating the systolic and diastolic function of the left   ventricle and represents a sensitive indicator for many types of heart diseases.
Objective: to evaluate the effects of gestational hypertension on the maternal myocar

Background: Asthma is an allergic hypersensitivity disease in which many mediators play a role in its pathogenecity. One of these etiological agents is the mediators such as Interleukin-5 (IL-5).

The  aim of this study to demonstrate the association between IL-5 and obesity in asthma development. 
Materials & Methods: One hundred and four sera samples for asthma cases have been studied in comparison with 41 non-asthmatic bronchitis as a patient controls beside 30 apparently healthy controls. Cytokine has been estimated using ELISA method in correlation with Body Mass Index (BMI).
Results: This study revealed a significant correlation between IL-5 concentration and BMI (P<0.05), part

Asthma and obesity are both a major public health problems affecting large numbers of individuals across the globe. Link between obesity and asthma is now considered as a recognized fact, and many epidemiological studies, found that overweight and obese people had a higher chance of developing asthma, with more severe symptoms. Assessment of the relationship between body mass index and asthma control. A cross-sectional study, that included 100 patients diagnosed with asthma, attending the respiratory disease consultatory unit at Baghdad teaching hospital. Body mass index was calculated by (BMI= weight in Kg/Height in m2), and Asthma control was assessed using asthma control test questionnaire forma. Statistical analysis done using, Test of