Background: Hand osteoarthritis (HOA) is a common joint disorder leading to considerable pain and with substantial impact on hand function. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a measurable index of the presence of atherosclerosis. Increased CIMT is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, so early diagnosis and management may improve quality of life.
Objective: To assess the relationship between carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and hand osteoarthritis (HOA), and to evaluate the predictors of this relationship.
Patients and Methods: One hundred Iraqi HOA patients and 100 healthy controls were included in this study. Full history was taken and complete clinical examination was done for all patients. Disease characteristics [age, sex, duration, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, family history of HOA, smoking history, lipid lowering agent use] were also documented. Laboratory analysis included complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and lipid profile. Individuals in both groups were assessed for CIMT by B-mode ultrasonography. X-rays of both hands was taken for patients and was graded according Kellgrenand Lawrence scale.
Results: Fifty five (55%) Iraqi HOA patients have increased CIMT compared with 38 % of controls (p=0.02). There was no statistical significant association between increased CIMT and HOA radiographical grading (p=0.72). The lipid profile was the only predictor of increased CIMT in patients with HOA [p=0.02, OR (95% CI) = 3.24 (1.20-8.75)]
Conclusions: There is increased frequency of increased CIMT (55%) in Iraqi patients with HOA. Abnormal lipid profile is the only significant predictor of increased CIMT.
This work is focused on the design parameters and activity of artificial human finger for seven grips. At first, obtained the ideal kinematics of human fingers motion by analyzing the grips video which were recorded using a single digital camera recorder fitted on a tripod in sagital plane while the hand is moving. Special motion analysis software (Dartfish) the finger joint angles were studied using the video recording. Then the seven grips were modeled using static torque analysis, which calculates the amount of torque applied on the fingers joint grip depending on the results of the kinematic analysis. The last step of the work was to design the actuator (Muscle Wire) of artificial finger for the seven grips in a simple design approac
... Show MoreThis study designed to examine association between-174G/C polymorphism of interleukin-6 gene and phosphate, calcium, vitamin D3, and parathyroid hormone levels in Iraqi patient with chronic kidney disease on maintenance hemodialysis. Seventy chronic renal failure patients (patients group) and 20 healthy subjects (control group) were genotyped for interleukin-6 polymorphism and genotyping was performed by conventional polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. No significant differences in phosphate levels were observed in patients and control with different interleukin-6 genotypes. Control had non-significant differences in calcium levels, while patients with GG and CG genotypes displayed significant e
... Show More
|
Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) is a chronic and progressive condition, which affects people all around the world. The risk of complications increases with age if the disease is not managed properly. Diabetic neuropathy is caused by excessive blood glucose and lipid levels, resulting in nerve damage. Apelin is a peptide hormone that is found in different human organs, including the central nervous system and adipose tissue. The aim of this study is to estimate Apelin levels in diabetes type 2 and Diabetic peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) Iraqi patients and show the extent of peripheral nerve damage. The current study included 120 participants: 40 patients with Diabetes Mellitus, 40 patients with Diabetic peripheral Neuropathy, and 40 healthy
... Show MoreBackground: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in dialysis patients, are associated with increased rate of complications, and may be difficult to diagnose due to often subclinical presentation.
Objectives: To examine theprevalence of urinary tract infections in hemodialysis patients with renal failure, and to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of pyuria as a screening test in hemodialysis patients.
Patients and Methods: A total of forty hemodialysis patients (27 males and 13 females) with renal failure were selected according to the study criteria. Clean-catch mid-stream urine specimens were obtained from study patients, their urinalysis and bacterial culture were performed according to standard techn
A hand gesture recognition system provides a robust and innovative solution to nonverbal communication through human–computer interaction. Deep learning models have excellent potential for usage in recognition applications. To overcome related issues, most previous studies have proposed new model architectures or have fine-tuned pre-trained models. Furthermore, these studies relied on one standard dataset for both training and testing. Thus, the accuracy of these studies is reasonable. Unlike these works, the current study investigates two deep learning models with intermediate layers to recognize static hand gesture images. Both models were tested on different datasets, adjusted to suit the dataset, and then trained under different m
... Show MoreThe purpose of this study was to measure serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP7), Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1), Growth Hormone (GH), Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and insulin in acromegaly patients and healthy controls. The acromegaly group had 60 patients, while the population group had 30 people who had never had acromegaly before. The concentration of IGFBP7, IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin were determined. The results of the present study indicate that IGFBP7 level in the acromegaly group was significantly lower (1.690.07 ng/mL vs. 2.740.12 ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.001). IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin concentrations were also significantly higher in acromegaly patients. The diagnostic accuracy (2.194) was exce
... Show MoreBackground: Since the introduction of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors including etanercept, their efficacy and safety in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been studied in many randomized controlled clinical trials. However, data regarding predictors of clinical response to anti-TNF therapy are still sparse.
Objective: To assess the predictors of response to etanercept in treatment of Iraqi patients with active RA.
Methods: An open label single group prospective study was conducted over 15 months on 190 Iraqi patients with RA. All the included patients were given etanercept at a dose of 50 mg by subcutaneous injection on
a weeklybases. Each patient was followed at regular intervals of bas
Background: The demographic characteristics of Iraqi patients with the metabolic syndrome (MS) and presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been scarcely studied before.
Aim of the study To study the socio-demographic characteristics of a group of Iraqi patients with MS presenting with ACS.
Patients and Methods: A convenience sample of 150 cases presenting with ACS and admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU) of Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital in Baghdad from mid-January through July 2011 were included in the current cross-sectional study. The data needed for the study was collected through a direct interview to fill a questionnaire by all cases carried out by a consu
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, where the normal joint tissues attacked by body’s immune system, causing their inflammation. Cluster of Differentiation 69 (CD69) is a human transmembrane C-Type lectin protein encoded by the CD69 gene. It’s expression was induced by activation (in vivo and in vitro) of T lymphocytes and Natural Killer (NK) Cells. As CD69 early activation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of some inflammatory diseases, its expression on peripheral blood T-lymphocytes must be evaluated.
Objective: To evaluate the expression of CD69 on peripheral blood T-lymphocytes in RA Iraqi patients.
Patients and methods: This study carried out between March 2