Background: Skull secondary tumors are malignant bone tumors which are increasing in incidence.Objective: The objectives of this study were to present clinical features , asses the outcome of patients with secondary skull tumors ,characterize the MRI features, locations, and extent of secondary skull tumors to determine the frequency of the symptomatic disease.Type of the study: This is a prospective study.Methods: This is a prospective study from February 2000 to February 2008. The patients were selected from five neurosurgical centers and one oncology hospital in Baghdad/Iraq. The inclusion criteria were MRI study of the head(either as an initial radiological study or following head CT scan when secondary brain tumor is suspected , visible or palpabable skull mass is noted ) that revealed either calvarial or skull base metastases were included in this study.Results: During the period of the study 175 patients were included according the inclusion criteria. Primary sites were breast cancer (54.85%), lung cancer (14.28%), prostate cancer (6.28%), malignant lymphoma (5.14%), and others (19.42%). The mean time from primary diagnosis to skull metastasis diagnosis was 71 months for cases of breast cancer, 26 months for prostate cancer, 9 months for lung cancer, and 4 months for malignant lymphoma. Calvarial circumscribed intraosseous metastases were found most frequently (25.7%). The patients were mainly asymptomatic. However, some patients suffered from local pain or cranial nerve palsies that harmed their quality of life. Treatment, mainly for symptomatic cases, was by local or whole-skull irradiation.Conclusion: Secondary skull tumors are not rare, and most are calvarial circumscribed intraosseous tumors. MRI contribute to understanding their type, location, and multiplicity, and their relationship to the brain, cranial nerves, and dural sinuses. Radiation therapy improved the quality of life (QOL) of patients with neurological symptoms.
Historically, medicinal herbs have been utilized as an important origin of chemicals with particular therapeutic potentials, and they continue to be a great place to find new medication candidates. Parthenocissus quinquefolia L. is a member of the grape-growing family Vitaceae. It is indigenous to Central and North America. It is widely dispersed in Iraqi gardens and plant houses from north to south. Traditionally, it has many uses, like relieving constipation, treating jaundice, expectorant, emetic, and others. At the same time, its proven activities include antioxidant activity, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, thrombin inhibitor effect, and medicine for treating eyelid eczema. Parthenocissus quinquefolia contains valuable phytochemicals lik
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Dicephalus parapagus twinning (DPT) is the rarest conjoined twinning entity of all conjoined twins. The presence of DPT is always associated with mortality before or after delivery. Antenatal diagnosis is crucial for planning labor, assembling a team, and providing counseling. Case presentation: A 23-year-old patient (G2P1A0) at 21 weeks of pregnancy attended the ultrasound clinic for routine care. A monoamniotic-monochorionic pregnancy was observed; the twin fetuses had two heads but one body, which corresponded to dicephalus parapagus twinning. A detailed ultrasound and fetal echocardiography reveal one heart without congenital anomalies. The liver, kidneys, and bladder appeared to be normally developed. Fetal MRI and karyotyping wer
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The typical test for diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, but the chest CT scan might play a complementary role at the first detection of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Objectives: To determine the sensitivity of CT scan on patients with COVID-19 in Al-Najaf, Iraq, and to compare the accuracy of CT scan with that of RT-PCR technique. Material and Method: This is a prospective study. The patients suspicious of having COVID-19 infection and respiratory symptoms were registered. All patients were diagnosed by RT-PCR and chest CT. Diagnostic performance of CT was intended using RT-PCR as the reference sta
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Commercial graphite (CGT) powder was used as an adsorbent surface for cationic dye, Janus green (JG), from aqueous solutions. This study aims to highlight the practical significance of using inexpensive CGT as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of JG dye from industrial wastewater. CGT was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The adsorption process was investigated by examining parameters like the weight of the adsorbent, contact time, and temperature. Pseudo-second-order kinetic (PSO), pseudo-first-order, and intraparticle diffusion were used for analyzing the kinetic data. JG dye's adsorption kinetics fit the PSO kinetic model well (R2= 0.999). Furthermo
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new, simple and fast solid-phase extraction method for separation and preconcentration of trace theophylline in aqueous solutions was developed using magnetite nanoparticles (MIONPs) coated with aluminium oxide (AMIONPs) and modified with palmitate (P) as an extractor (P@AMIONPs). It has shown that the developed method has a fast absorbent rate of the theophylline at room temperature. The parameters that affect the absorbent of theophylline in the aqueous solutions have been investigated such as the amount of magnetite nanoparticle, pH, standing time and the volume, concentration of desorption solution. The linear range, limit of quantification (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) for the determination of theophylline were 0.05-2.450 μg mL-
... Show MoreThe levels of circulating angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors, namely vascular endothelial growth factor–A (VEGF-A) and soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1), have been linked to the development of renal dysfunction due to the proliferation of microvasculature within the kidneys of type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients. The study aims to scrutinize serum levels of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in a sample of Iraqi diabetic nephropathy patients to support their reliability as markers for the prediction of nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients as well as to assess the ACE inhibitor’s effect on the levels of these two markers. Method: The ninety participants of this case-control study were split into three gr
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Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a condition characterized by an elevation of oxidative stress, which has been implicated in diabetic progression and its vascular complications. Aim: Assessing the impact of gliclazide modified release (MR) versus glimepiride on oxidative stress markers, glycemic indices, lipid profile, and estimated glomerular filtration rate in uncontrolled type 2 diabetic patients on metformin monotherapy. Methods: This was an observational comparative study conducted in Thi-Qar specialized diabetic, endocrine, and metabolism center. Sixty-six patients were randomized into two groups based on the addition of the sulfonylureas (SUs). Group 1 (33 patients) was on gliclazide MR, whereas Group 2 (33 patients)
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