Objectives: Severe head injury is the most devastating neurosurgical condition and it is only next to cancers as the leading cause of death in developed countries.
Because trace elements (TEs) are involved in most of enzymes that drives the biochemical reactions, so they are considered as a window to the biochemical
environment of the body in general and in brain in specific.
Aim of the Study: This study measured six TEs (Fe, Zn, Mg, Cu, Mn and Co) in 29 patients with severe head injury (GCS Score 3-9); their ages between 5-50 years.
Collection and estimation performed at both Neurosurgical Hospital (NH) in Baghdad and Medical Research Center (MRC) of College of Medicine, Kadhimiyah between January 2004 and August 2004. 17 of healthy Iraqi volunteers of age- and sex- matched were used as a comparable control group in TEs measurement.
Results: The analysis showed that serum Cu level has a striking significant positive correlation with GCS (P<0.01) followed by serum Mg (P<0.01), serum Fe
(P<0.05) with mode of correlation is linear except for that of serum Fe has three phases of correlation. Serum Mg is the only TE showed statistical significant lower value in patient group than the control group (P<0.01). Zn is the only TE that is correlated with the mode of intake, significantly lower among patient on IVF than those on N/G (P<0.01). Serum zinc correlated in linear relation with serum Mg (P<0.05), serum Fe with serum Mg (P<0.05).
Atopic dermatitis (atopic eczema), is a common familial chronic inflammatory skin disease, determined by xerosis, itching, scaly and erythematous skin lesions, and high serum levels of IgE. Between 10 to 20% of children and 1 to 3% of adults worldwide affected by it and has negative medical and social effect on patients and their families. To evaluate the effectiveness of Phytosterol Fraction of Chenopodium Murale on induced atopic dermatitis (AD) of mice; Forty mice were included in the study, divided in to four groups (10 mice/group): apparently healthy, induced AD without treatment, induced AD treated with Tacrolimus 0.1% ointment, and induced AD treated with Phytosterol Fraction of Chenopodium Murale cream 3% topica
... Show MoreThe spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is a worldwide problem. Due to the importance of P. aeruginosa as a multidrug resistant bacterium, this study aimed, through molecular techniques, to detect point mutations in chromosomal genes responsible for the quinolones class of antibiotics resistance. A total of 52 isolates from burn infections were identified using specific primers for P. aeruginosa 16S rDNA. Ciprofloxacin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were estimated using the agar dilution assay. DNA sequences of the quinolone resistance-determining regions of gyrA and parC were determined for detecting the mutations found in these genes and the relations among the i
... Show MoreCommunication skills are essential for health professionals to achieve a positive relationship with patients, improving their health and quality of life. Communication is the foundation for obtaining medical history and conveying a diagnosis and treatment plan.
To assess the knowledge, practice of communication skills among primary care physicians, to find out any barriers related to the communication skills, and the association between the studied variables with knowledge and practice of communicati
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. ulcerative colitis (UC) disease is characterized by chronic, persistent, recurrent, and nonspecific intestinal ulcers and mucosal inflammation. This study investigated the protective effects of cinnamic acid on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) induced ulcerative colitis in mice. Forty adult male mice were collected and randomly divided into five groups, group Ӏ received a suspension of distill water and poloxamer, and group ӀӀ received 3% DSS in drinking water for 7 consecutive days. Two treatment groups received an oral suspension of cinnamic acid 50 and 25 mg/kg respectively an
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Tribulus terrestris has been commonly used in folk medicine to energize, vitalize and improve sexual function and physical performance in men and laboratory rats. OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Tribulus terrestris on the number of Leydig cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tribulus terrestris was given to mature male rats as an oral single herbal suspension in a dose of 2.0mg /1000gbody weight for 14 days to stimulate spermatogenesis. Formalin fixed paraffinembedded tissue sections were performed for histological, immunohistochemical and morphometrical studies. RESULTS: Histological study revealed wider seminiferous tubules and increased spermatocytes population with an increased sperm density inside the lumen of the tubul
... Show MoreIfosfamide (IFO), an alkylating chemotherapy agent, is known for its association with neurotoxicity and encephalopathy. This trial was designed to evaluate the protective action of daidzein (DZN) against IFO-induced neurotoxicity in male rats by determining the difference in certain inflammatory and apoptotic markers in the brain tissue of rats. Twenty-eight Wistar rats, weighing 120-150 g, were divided into four groups of seven rats: Group 1 (Control) received no treatment; Group 2 was orally administered DZN (100 mg/kg/day) for seven days; Group 3 received a single intraperitoneal (IP) dose of IFO (500 mg/kg); Group 4 received oral DZN (100 mg/kg/day) for one week prior to a single IP dose of IFO on the seventh day. Twenty-four hours post
... Show MoreBackground: Occupational exposure to hazardous drugs occurs in all aspects of anticancer drug handling. Proper recommendations and guidelines should be applied to control and reduce exposure. Objective: To assess pharmacists' knowledge and practice regarding the safe handling of anticancer drugs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at seven major hospitals in Baghdad City, Iraq, from December 2023 to February 2024. A pre-designed questionnaire was given to pharmacists who handled anticancer drugs in chemotherapy units. The questionnaire comprises sociodemographic data, knowledge of the safe handling of cytotoxic drugs and thoughts about exposure and risk, practices for safely handling cytotoxic drugs, and challenges for s
... Show MoreChronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm arises from Bcr-Abl gene translocation(called Ph chromosome) in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).JAK2V617F mutation is an acquired singlenucleotide polymorphism (SNP) occurs in JAK2 gene and is associated with many hematological malignancyother than CML. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of JAK2V617F mutation and serum levels ofalkaline phophatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in Ph+ CML Iraqi patients treated with imatinib.Blood samples were collected from 42 Ph+ CML patients who have been received at least six month therapywith imatinib. DNA was extracted, and real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used for JAK2V617Fdetection. Serum levels of A
... Show MoreNiTi (also called Nitinol) transforms from cubic (austenite) to monoclinic (martensite), and vice versa, owing to the shape memory effect and superelasticity. Nitinol has a large number of biomedical applications because of its low elastic modulus close to that of natural bone material and good resistance to corrosion and fatigue, in addition to the transformation temperatures of nitinol that are close to body temperature. It has many other important applications, such as in the aircraft industry. In all these important applications, especially medical applications, Nitinol stability is an important factor for safety. Our goal is to study the stability of NiTi by calculating the phonon dispersion relation to obtain an accurate u
... Show MoreBackground: Lumbar puncture is a procedure that is frequently performed in the pediatric practice.
Objective: To review some (patient, provider and technique- related) characteristics of lumbar puncture performed at the Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, Baghdad / Iraq.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the period from April to September, 2017. A self-prepared questionnaire was used to collect the data. It included 32 items, which were divided into three sections: Residents doctors' information (3 items), patient's information (2 items) and procedure’s information (27 items).
Results: The total number of performed procedures was 103, of which 51 (49.5%) were performed in the oncology ward. About ha