Background: migraine is a chronic neurovascular disorder characterized by intermittent attacks of sever headache with or without aura that can include various combinations of neurological, gastrointestinal tract (G.I.T), and autonomic changes, without evidence of primary structural abnormalities. The Autonomic nervous system involvement suggested by many symptoms and signs including nausea, diarrhea, constipation, coldness in the extremities, paroxysmal tachycardia and chest pain.
Objectives: To evaluate autonomic functions in patients with migraine and to clarify the autonomic dysfunction weather its sympathetic, parasympathetic, or combined. Also to assess the severity of this dysfunction and its relation to age, gender and type of migraine.
Methods: This study enrolled 60 patients with migraine, 42 females and 18 males with an age range between 14-45 y. with 30 healthy volunteer as control group, The using of a questionnaire paper, autonomic nervous system disability scale and set of autonomic cardiovascular reflexes test were also applied .
Results: The migraineurs with disabling attack may be prone to autonomic nervous system hypofunction which may be either a risk factor for migraine headache, or be a consequence of frequent disabling attacks, moreover autonomic nervous system dysfunction and migraine may share a common neural substrate. The Parasympathetic part of autonomic nervous system is affected more than sympathetic according to Ewing classification of autonomic function tests which is significant statistically in comparison to control, and 16(26.7%) of patients showed definite dysautonomia(score >2) while 44(73.3%) of patients were normal. Palpitation and postural dizziness are the most frequent symptoms in patients with migraine . Autonomic dysfunction among migraineurs is not rare also prolong course of illness is strongly correlated with autonomic dysfunction which is affect parasympathetic part more than sympathetic, for this reason the clinician should look carefully for the autonomic symptoms when they assess patient with migraine because most of those symptoms were disabling
Conclusions: The assessment of autonomic function tests should be a routine work in patient with migraine. The heart rate response to deep breath and valsalva are simple informative and beside to evaluate the parasympathetic part of autonomic nervous system
Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects mainly the synovial membranes and articular structures and is characterized by chronic, systemic inflammation involving multiple joints.Being a synovial joint, the Temporomandibular Joint is subject to the same disorders affecting other synovial joints, including RA.Beside it was considered as a specific serological marker for diagnosing RA disease ,antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide have proven to be associated with joints destruction, though; it may play a potential role in the prediction of the disease severity. Materials and Methods: Sixty nine individuals (69) were enrolled in this study, forty nine (49) were patients diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, a
... Show MoreType 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease frequently associated with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). The study is conducted at the Specialized Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes-Baghdad at Al-karkh side, during December 2013 up to April 2014. In this study, we investigate the prevalence of anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) antibody in(80) type1 diabetic patients with (AITD) and (30) healthy controls .Blood samples are taken for investigation of thyroid tests by using Vitek Immunodiagnstic Assay System (VIDAS).Enzeme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is used to detect anti-thyroid antibody(anti-TPO). The results show that age, gender and BMI (body mass index) are similar in both groups, p>0.05. Among 80 type1 diabetic
... Show MoreAdhesion (type 1 fimbriae) and host defense avoidance mechanisms (capsule or lipopolysaccharide) have been shown to be prevalent in Escherichia coli isolates associated with urinary tract infections. In this work, 50 uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolated from children with urinary tract infections were genotypically characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. We used two genes; fimH and kpsMTII, both of them previously identified in uropathogenic E.coli (UPEC) isolates. The PCR assay results identified fimH (90.0)% and kpsMTII (72.0)% isolates. In the present study, was also demonstrated that these genes may be included in both or one of them within a single isolate.
Background: Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived mitral annular displacement (MAD) utilizes the speckle tracking technique to measure strain vectors, which provides accurate estimates of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).Objectives: To validate the accuracy of mitral annular displacement (MAD), assessed by Speckle Tracking Echocardiography (STE), as a surrogate for determination of left ventricular systolic function in comparison to 2-Dimensions Simpson method in patients with different heart diseases.Methods : This cross-sectional study included patients who referred to outpatient department of Ibn Albitar Center for Cardiac Surgery, Baghdad, Iraq, between October 2012 and April 2013. STE continuously tracked annular
... Show MoreRheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune diseasecharacterized by chronic inflammationthat affects joints and cartilage. Bone complications such asRA-relatedosteoporosis are one of the most extra-articular manifestations. Many inflammatory mediators are released during RA disease pathophysiology; these mediators stimulate osteoclast genesis of bone by direct effects on RANKL and OPG. The study aimedto measure RANKL, OPG in RA patients treated with Etanercept only and other groups treated with Methotrexate onlyat baseline and after three months to evaluate bone state. An observational case-control prospective study was done on 30 RA patients who received MTX, 30 RA patients who received ETN, and 30 healthy,age-matched control groups. The
... Show MoreVisceral leishmaniasis(VL) or kala-azar is one of the world most neglected tropical diseases in mortality and fourth in morbidity, rK39 dipstick was used to diagnose the suspected infected patients as easiest and rapid technique for VL diagnostic, the disease out-coming required to the differentiation of cell mediated immunity either T-helper 1(Th-1) or (Th-2). One of main pointers that may be considered as one of immune evasion strategy in the host-parasite interplay is HLA-G level alteration. HLA-G Known as a special proteins (non-classical HLA class I) molecules which can suppress the immune system by T-cell functions impaired in the aid with target receptors as LILRB4. The development of the cell mediated immunity initiated with Interle
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive airflow limitation that is preventable but not curable. It is associated with persistent symptoms that cause a considerable burden on individual productivity at work, and daily activities, and reduced quality of life, also burdening the healthcare system and society. Objectives: The study aims to measure the burden of COPD on patients in terms of daily activities and work productivity. It also seeks to investigate some inflammatory biomarkers' levels and their correlation with selected outcomes. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 120 stable COPD patients who were diagnosed and treated according to the GOLD guidelines at Kirkuk General Hospital's
... Show MoreThe neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have the potential to be inflammatory markers that reflect the activity of many inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the NLR and PLR as potential markers of disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
The study involved 132 patients with ankylosing spondylitis and 81 healthy controls matched in terms of age and gender. Their sociodemographic data, disease activity scores using the Bath Ankylosing