Background: Hypertension is probably the most important public health problem around the world. People with periodontal disease may be at greater risk of hypertension. The inflammatory effects of periodontal disease help to promote endothelial dysfunction in arteries which may lead to changes in blood pressure. Salivary MMP-8 has been associated with both periodontal disease and prevalent hypertension. Aim of study: This study was conducted to measure salivary matrix metalloproteinase - 8, in relation to periodontal health condition among a group of patients with hypertension in comparison with control group. Materials and methods: Ninety subjects, aged 45-50 years old were included in this study, seeking treatment for chest pain in Ibn-AlBaytar center for cardiac surgical treatments in Baghdad, Iraq. The subjects were divided into study group (45 patient) who were diagnosed to be a hypertensive patient, and a control group (45 subject), with no hypertension. Plaque status was evaluated according to the Silness and Loe, probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level. Unstimulated saliva was collected from all subjects to analyses MMP-8. Result: A high mean value of plaque index, clinical attachment level and probing pocket depth for the study group than the control group with statistically no significant difference. In addition to that, a significant positive correlation between the plaque index and the clinical attachment level among both groups. Salivary MMP-8 level showed a higher level in the study group than in the control group, with statistically significant difference between groups, and a significant positive correlation was detected between salivary MMP-8 with plaque index, among study group, Conclusions: Higher percentage of periodontal diseases was found among patients with blood hypertension. In addition, high level of salivary MMP-8 is potentially associated with periodontal status of the study group.
Background: Invasion in oral cancer involves alterations in cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions that accompanied by loss of cell adhesion. Catenins stabilize cellular adherence junctions by binding to E-cadherin, which further mediates cell-cell adhesion and regulates proliferation and differentiation of epithelial cells. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is one of the major signaling pathways in cell proliferation, oncogenesis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Aims of the study: to detect immunohistochemical distribution pattern and different subcellular localization of β-catenin in oral squamous cell carcinoma and relate such expression to Bryne’s invasive grading system. Materials and Methods: This study included 30 paraffi
... Show MoreBackground: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is the
most common rheumatic cause of diffuse pain and
multiple regional musculoskeletal pain and disability.
Objective: is to assess the contribution of serum
lipoprotein (A) in the pathogenesis of FMS patients.
Methods: One hundred twenty two FMS patients
were compared with 60 healthy control individuals
who were age and sex matched. All FMS features and
criteria are applied for patients and controls; patients
with secondary FMS were excluded. Serum
Lipoprotein (A): [Lp(A)], body mass index (BMI), &
s.lipid profile were determined for both groups.
Results: There was a statistical significant difference
between patients &controls in serum lipoprotein
Background: Immune thrombocytopenia is an immune-related disorder that causes an impairment in platelet production and stimulates platelet destruction, causing variable bleeding symptoms. Objective: This study focuses on refractory immune thrombocytopenic purpura patients on romiplostim treatment and their level of illness perception related to treatment response. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 1st, 2025, to August 1st, 2025. Brief Illness Perception Questionnaires were administered to 84 patients with ITP to collect the data. The study took place at the Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Center, Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq. Results: The romiplostim response rate is 21 (25.0%), while the partial response rate is 4
... Show MoreBackground: Dyslipidemia is a major cause of
cardiovascular disease, which in turn, is the most
common cause of female morbidity and mortality.
Postmenopausal women (natural and surgical) are at
higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease,
especially coronary artery atherosclerosis.
Objective: To observe the relationship between blood
lipids: total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoproteincholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoproteincholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TGs), and very low
density lipoprotein- cholesterol (VLDL-C), LDL-C/
HDL-C ratio (atherogenic index) and menopausal
status, and to determine the co-factors that may explain
this relationship
Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional st
Background: Many structural or functional abnormalities can impair the production of thyroid hormones and cause hypothyroidism.Objectives: to identify the main etiological causes of hypothyroidism among patients visiting Specialized Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology.Methods: This study was conducted in the Specialized Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology on 217 patients with proved hypothyroidism, from 2006 to 2008. Every patient was tested with thyroid function tests, Ultrasound examination, thyroid autoantibodies, fine needle aspiration, radiology of skull, isotopes scan, also checking adrenal and gonadal function. Results: Out of these 217 patients 120 patients have thyroiditis 33 patients had been undergone thyroidectomy. 39 pat
... Show MoreBackground : To assess the actual practice of breast self-examination (BSE), as an early detection tool for breast cancer, among a sample of patients affected with breast cancer in Iraq.Methods: A random sample of 200 female patients with breast cancer was analyzed to evaluate the extent of their actual practice of breast self-examination before the diagnosis of the disease. The examined variables included the age of the patients, marital status, education, occupation, smoking habit, family history of cancer, frequency of gravidity, parity and abortions. Results: The age of patients ranged from (24-70) years with a mean age of 48 years. The highest frequency of the examined sample
... Show MoreBackground: Salivary gland neoplasms constitute a group of heterogeneous lesions with complex clinicopathologic characteristics and distinct biological behavior. Numerous studies have suggested geographical variation, therefore the aims of this study were to analyze the characteristics of salivary gland neoplasms in two Iraqi centers and to analyze the postoperative complications that are encountered after surgical treatment of these tumors. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of the patients who were treated for major and minor epithelial salivary gland tumors was conducted. The analyzed data included; demographic information (age and gender), the site of the tumor, the clinical manifestations, the histological type of the tumo
... Show MoreThe encoding of long low density parity check (LDPC) codes presents a challenge compared to its decoding. The Quasi Cyclic (QC) LDPC codes offer the advantage for reducing the complexity for both encoding and decoding due to its QC structure. Most QC-LDPC codes have rank deficient parity matrix and this introduces extra complexity over the codes with full rank parity matrix. In this paper an encoding scheme of QC-LDPC codes is presented that is suitable for codes with full rank parity matrix and rank deficient parity matrx. The extra effort required by the codes with rank deficient parity matrix over the codes of full rank parity matrix is investigated.