Background: Plaque retention during fixed orthodontic therapy is an important cause of developing enamel demineralization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different brackets types on the count of Streptococcus Mutans in orthodontic patients using conventional fluoridated toothpaste. Materials and Methods: Plaque samples were collected from maxillary 1st premolar teeth of twenty right handed patients (using split mouth technique) before bonding, after 48 hrs of bonding using tooth brush only, and after 2 weeks of using fluoridated toothpaste. Stainless steel bracket was bonded on right first premolar while the left one was bonded with sapphire bracket. The calculation of the Streptococcus Mutans count was done using the plate counting method utilizing colony counter. The differences between the two types of brackets were determined using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Results: The median bacterial count on the right side was insignificantly higher than the left side; streptococcus mutans in the plaque sample around the sapphire brackets showed insignificantly less counts than around the stainless steel one, when the patients used tooth brush only or fluoridated toothpastes. Fluoridated toothpastes reduced streptococcus mutans insignificantly around both types of brackets. Conclusion: Fluoridated toothpaste acts effectively in reducing streptococcus mutans colony counts around sapphire and stainless steel brackets. Keywords: Streptococcus mutans, Stainless steel brackets, Sapphire brackets.
Background: Behçet’s disease (BD) is a disorder of systemic inflammatory condition. Its important features are represented by recurrent oral, genital ulcerations and eye lesions. Aims. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate and compare cytological changes using morphometric analysis of the exfoliated buccal mucosal cells in Behçet’s disease patients and healthy controls, and to evaluate the clinical characteristics of Behçet’s disease. Methods. Twenty five Behçet’s disease patients have been compared to 25 healthy volunteers as a control group. Papanicolaou stain was used for staining the smears taken from buccal epithelial cells to be analyzed cytomorphometrically. The image analysis sof
... Show Moreprotein oxidation through oxidative stress, which represents the overall status of the protein in the cell/tissue. Due to their increased levels of AOPPs were reported during T2DM. The aim of this study was to assess AOPP level in T2DM subjects with foot ulcer (DFU) and explore its correlation with infection. Type 2 diabetic patients (n=108) and healthy subjects (n=25) were enrolled in this study. The T2DM group was subdivided to diabetic patients without complications (n=25) and eighty-three (83) of them have diabetic foot. They were sub- grouped into two groups according to presence Osteomyelitis and abscess, and in reliance on medical analysis of WBC count and CRP. Group of diabetic without superficial or deep ulcer and no osteomyelitis
... Show MoreThe study aimed to evaluate the level of MMP‑2 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients in comparison with that in remission status, and healthy subjects, and to find its correlation with hematologic parameters. This study included sixty newly diagnosed AML patients. Remission status was assessed after induction chemotherapy. The overall survival (OS) was determined after 6 months. The plasma MMP‑2 level was measured at diagnosis by enzyme immunoassay. Twenty‑eight healthy individuals were recruited as a control group. Plasma MMP‑2 was higher in AML patients than in healthy individuals (P = 0.005). The level of MMP‑2 was much higher in the M5 subtype than in the other subtypes (P = 0.0001). There was no statistically significant d
... Show MoreAxial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic rheumatic inflammatory disease affecting mainly the spine and sacroiliac joints. Since the copper-to-zinc ratio (Cu/Zn) indicates an inflammatory response, the change in ratio is expected to correlate with axSpA. This study compared levels of Cu/Zn in the serum of axSpA patients. Serum samples were obtained from 53 patients with axSpA divided according to biological treatment into cohorts A and B, and 28 healthy control as cohort C. Serum levels of Cu and Zn were determined first by a fully automated chemistry analyzer TC-Matrix Plus, then the ratio was obtained. The elevated serum Cu concentration means of cohort B (189.32 ± 13.808 µg/dL) compared to cohort A (168.85 ± 7.244 µg/dL) a
... Show MoreABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Left ventricular hypertrophy is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular complications such as ischemic heart disease, heart failure, sudden death, atrial fibrillation, and stroke. A proper non-expensive tool is required for detection of this pathology. Different electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria were investigated; however, the results were conflicting regarding the accuracy of these criteria. OBJECTIVE: To assess the accuracy of three electrocardiographic criteria in diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy in adult patients with hypertension using echocardiography as a reference test. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a hospital-based cross sectional observational study which included 340 adult patients with a his
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of trace elements Magnesium (Mg), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), and Selenium (Se) in blood sera of asthmatic patients by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The concentrations of Mg, Cu, and Zn have been determined by Flame Atomic Absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS), and Se with flameless Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (GFAAS). The study involves (55) asthmatic patients as study group and (28) subjects as control from both genders. Serum levels of Mg, Cu, and Se were significantly higher (p<0.001 for all) in patients when compared with healthy subjects, while Zn level was relatively significant (p<0.05). Our observations confirm the efficacy and applicability of (AAS) in
... Show MoreAbstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease with severe acute respiratory syndrome and first recognized in Wuhan, China, and it has since spread to the world, resulting in the coronavirus pandemic to 2020. The present study aimed to evaluate Molecular study of some types of vaginal fungi isolated from recovered women from Covid-19 in Baghdad governorate. The study was conducted on 213 samples collected between December 2021 and March 2022, where the number of positive samples reached 188 with percentage 88.26%, while the number of negative samples reached 25 with percentage 11.73% by taking vaginal swabs from various female patients in Al- Kadhimiya Teaching Hospital. Three of Candida spp. were isolated: Candida a
... Show MoreBackground: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. The aims of the study: were to determine the prevalence of oral manifestation among patients with major depressive disorder receiving antidepressant drugs, and detect alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Total Salivary proteins (TSP), and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) in relation to MDD patients under treatment and to compare with healthy controls. Materials and method: (50) MDD patients; between the ages of 20 years and 60 years.The depression patients are divided into (25) patients under treatment with fluoxetine (Prozac), and (25) patients under tr
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