Background: Coronary artery disease remains the main cause of death despite several preventive programs. Epicardial adipose tissue is a visceral fat depot of the heart located along the large coronary arteries and on the surface of ventricles and apex. Intima media thickness is commonly recognized as the initial stage in the development of atherosclerosis. The development of ultrasound machines, advances in echocardiographic devices and high resolution transducers facilitate comprehensive analysis of epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT).
Aim: To investigate the relationship of echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT) with the severity of coronary artery disease.
Methods: A cross sectional multicenter diagnostic accuracy study carried out at Ibn Al-Nafis Cardiovascular Hospital, Ibn Al- Bitar Cardiology Center and Ghazi Al-Hariri Hospital –Iraqi Center for Cardiology during the period between October 2016 and May 2017 assessing. History regarding demographic data and risk factors was taken. Two dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic measurements were done. EFT was measured from parasternal long axis view perpendicular to the right ventricular free wall. C-IMT was measured according to that recommended by the American society of echocardiography (ASE).
Results: The current study demonstrated that the EFT has a direct and significant correlation with the number of involved vessels (P value ˂ 0.001, r= 0.770). The validity of EFT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.984, cut point > 8mm, sensitivity=92.9%, specificity= 93.3%). There is inverse and significant correlation between ejection fraction (EF) and three vessels disease (P value ˂ 0.001, r= -0.507). Also there is a direct and significant correlation between C-IMT and severity of CAD. ROC analysis for validity of C-IMT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.961, cut point > 1.04mm, sensitivity=92.9%. specificity=86.7%). C-IMT is fair to discriminate between single vessel disease and no vessel involvement (AUC=0.738, cut point ˃ 0.84mm, sensitivity 100%), so if correlated with age, C-IMT above 0.84 can be used as a cut off point for the prediction of CAD. Finally, EFT and C-IMT are more likely to reflect severity of CAD than their ratio.
Conclusions: C-IMT and EFT are simple and reproducible parameters that can be used as a screening tool for the presence and severity of CAD especially before symptoms appearance in high risk patients
Aneurysms of the cortical branches of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) are rare. They usually are secondary to traumatic or infectious etiologies and are rarely idiopathic. The specific characteristics of idiopathic aneurysms in such location are not well defined in the literature. The authors report a rare case of a ruptured giant idiopathic cortical MCA aneurysm with review of the available literature on this clinical entity.
A 24-year-old female presented with headache, disturbed level of consciousness, and right-sided weakness. Imaging studies showed a left frontoparietal intracer
BACKGROUND: The degree of the development of coronary collaterals is long considered an alternate–that is, a collateral–source of blood supply to an area of the myocardium threatened with vascular ischemia or insufficiency. Hence, the coronary collaterals are beneficial but can also promote harmful (adverse) effects. For instance, the coronary steal effect during the myocardial hyperemia phase and that of restenosis following coronary angioplasty.
In this study, a cholera model with asymptomatic carriers was examined. A Holling type-II functional response function was used to describe disease transmission. For analyzing the dynamical behavior of cholera disease, a fractional-order model was developed. First, the positivity and boundedness of the system's solutions were established. The local stability of the equilibrium points was also analyzed. Second, a Lyapunov function was used to construct the global asymptotic stability of the system for both endemic and disease-free equilibrium points. Finally, numerical simulations and sensitivity analysis were carried out using matlab software to demonstrate the accuracy and validate the obtained results.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of chronic liver and defines by fat accumulation ≥5% in liver which can progresses to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NAFLD related to obesity as well as non obese individuals. Adiponectin is a cytokine secreted from adipose tissue involved NAFLD pathogenesis and liked with obesity. Irisin is a myokine, has a convenient effect against metabolic diseases such as obesity, disylipemia diabetes type 2 and reversed liver steatosis and may be related with NAFLD. Vitamin D is one of the fat soluble vitamins and more precisely as a pro-hormone through its metabolite (1,25(OH)2 cholecalciferol) the major steroid hormone. After the skin exposure to the light, vitamin D undergoes to
... Show MoreThis study was designed to evaluate the role of single session autologous facial fat grafting in correcting facial asymmetries after mixing it with platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) and injecting them into rich vascular facial muscular plane.
Fifteen patients (12 females and 3 males) with age ranging from 18 years to 40 years were included in this study and followed up during 6 months, all the patients were treated in the Al-Shaheed Ghazi Al-Hariri for specialized surgeries hospital (Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq).
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Abstract:
Background: Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), an adipokine that participate in a lipid metabolism or insulin resistance through a complex regulatory network. Recently, RBP4 was reported to be associated with many cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) risk factors in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aims to study the correlation of serum RBP4 with some markers of glycemic control, dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity in T2DM Iraqi patients.
Subjects and Methods: one hundred fifty participants were enrolled in this coss-sectional study, 120 of participants were T2DM patients and 30 were apparently healthy individuals to serve as control gro
... Show Morethe contemporary Arab scholars deal with semiotics as an approach that helps them understand the texts, its meaning, and its structural functionalism . that’s why every now and then we find some
studies and researches using semiotics as an approach in study and comparatives, some of them even used the semiotic approach in analyzing old and new texts, while others think that semiotic holds and important place in critical approaches .
even though some of them considers semiotic just a trend of fashion this really didn’t lessen the value of semiotic as a scientific and procedural approach in literary and media studies as well as in analyzing literary and journalistic texts. for this reason it is considered as an important approa
Background: Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of tissues supporting the teeth. Salivary compositions have been most intensely studied as a potential marker for periodontal disease. In this study, analysis of saliva provides a simple and non-invasive method of evaluating the role of salivary IgA (s-IgA) levels in periodontal disease by detecting the level of (s-IgA) in patients with chronic periodontitis smokers and non smokers patients and correlate the mean (s-IgA) levels with clinical periodontal parameters Plaque index (PLI) gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL). Materials and Methods: The study samples consists of (15) patients with chronic periodontitis who were non smokers (
... Show MoreIn spite of the contemporary development over the world in pertaining of modernization and its differences about the transformation of the knowledge but, the important instrument to transfer the thoughts and information did not have change except the language. So the evolutionary process became as a torrent or fusillade above the cliff which drifted anything. So that the objective inquiry and impressed with varieties of development the casement to evaluate the linguistic or re - correction highlight article in order to preserve on the origins of the language and its sobriety.
Today, we have different correspondence and social media as