Background : Left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease represents important and serious portion of coronary artery disease(CAD).
Aim: The aim of this study is to estimate the incidence of LMCA disease among patients with CAD undergoing coronary artery angiography and to evaluate clinical characteristics of patients with LMCA disease.
Methods: The study involved review of clinical notes and coronary angiography of 1020 patients with CAD in Ibin Al Bitar hospital for cardiac surgery between April and September 2004.This review included evaluation of electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram(ECHO), ECG exercise test (EET) and coronary angiography.
Results: Among 56 patients proved to have left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease,40 patients had complete data available which were studied. Mean age of patients with LMCA disease was 60 ± 8.07 years, 82% of them were males, 62% were smokers, 40% were diabetics and 55% were hypertensive. In this group 62.5% of patients with LMCA disease presented as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and 37.5% as chronic stable angina (CSA),normal left ventricular (LV) function was found in 75% of patients and 40% have normal electrocardiogram (ECG).
Patients with LMCA disease who have distal involvement represent 75%,15% have diffusely diseased LMCA, right coronary artery (RCA) was involved in 80% of patients and those with
RCA involvement were more commonly presented with ACS (78%), while those without RCA involvement presented more as CSA. Those patients who underwent ECG exercise test had poor functional Capacity, with mean exercise duration of 3.7 ± 2.3 minutes and mean metabolic equivalents (METs) of 4.5 ± 2.46. The tests were positive in 76.9% of patients inconclusive in the rest but no negative tests were recorded. No significant differences were observed between those patients with ACS and those with CSA in regard to patients' characteristics.
Conclusion: LMCA disease is not uncommon among those with CAD, it occurs in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Patients with LMCA disease usually have poor functional
capacity and their ETTs are commonly positive and of high risk score. Involvements of right coronary artery (RCA) in addition to LMCA render the patients more unstable.
Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by chronic inflammation that essentially affects the small intestine and is caused by eating gluten-containing foods. This study sought to determine gene expression of NLRP3 Inflammasome in peripheral blood of Iraqi CD children using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay. Thirty children with CD (12 males and 18 females) were enrolled in the study and their age range was 3-15 years. The diagnosis of the disease was confirmed by serological examinations and intestinal endoscopy. A control sample of 20 age-matched healthy children was also included. The children were stratified for age, gender, body max index (BMI), histological findings, and marsh classification. Furthe
... Show MoreToxoplasma gondii (Nicolle and Manceaux ) infects all warm-blooded animals,
including humans. Early diagnosis and determining the infective stage are critical for
treating immunosuppressed individuals and pregnant women with toxoplasmosis.
This parasite modulates pro- and anti-inflammatory responses to regulate parasite
multiplication and host survival. The aim of this study was to investigate the
probability of using IL-6 as a marker of toxoplasmosis disease activity (acute and
chronic) in different groups of women (miscarriage, pregnant and single) and estimate
the relationship between infection and gestational age and history of abortion in
miscarriage and pregnant women. The most abortion were occurred at the
In this work, p-n junctions were fabricated from highly-pure nanostructured NiO and TiO2 thin films deposited on glass substrates by dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The structural characterization showed that the prepared multilayer NiO/TiO2 thin film structures were highly pure as no traces for other compounds than NiO and TiO2 were observed. It was found that the absorption of NiO-on-TiO2 structure is higher than that of the TiO2-on-NiO. Also, the NiO/TiO2 heterojunctions exhibit typical electrical characteristics, higher ideality factor and better spectral responsivity when compared to those fabricated from the same materials by the same technique and with larger particle size and lower structural purity.
Background: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukins play important roles in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Genetic research has been employed to find many of the missing connections between genetic risk variations and causal genetic components. Objective: The goal of this study is to look at the genetic variations of TNF-α and interleukins in Iraqi RA patients and see how they relate to disease severity or response to biological therapy. Method: Using specific keywords, the authors conducted a systematic and comprehensive search to identify relevant Iraqi studies examining the genetic variations of TNF-α and interleukins in Iraqi RA patients and how they relate to disease severity or response to biolo
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to evaluate the association between IBD and oral symptom and mucosal lesions in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that has been done in (Kurdistan center for Gastroenterology and hepatology) of Teaching Hospital in Sulaymaniyah-Iraq, which included 101 patients previously diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease who were interviewed regarding manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease especially oral manifestations. Required data were collected through a specially designed questionnaire,
Results: The patients’ mean age was 45.74±12.58 years. Patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease w
... Show More