Background: Intramedullary astrocytomas
account for about 1% of all CNS tumors and
6–8% of spinal cord tumors. The vast majority
of intramedullary astrocytomas are slowgrowing
lesions.
Objectives: The goal in this study was to
review a series of patients who underwent
surgical removal of intramedullary high-grade
astrocytomas, focusing on the functional
outcome and the effect of multimodality
treatment on the survival of patients with high
grade intramedullary astrocytoma.
Methods: Between June 1999 and June 2004,
22 patients underwent removal of
intramedullary high-grade astrocytomas in four
neurosurgical hospital in Baghdad/ Iraq
(Neurosurgical hospital, Al Shaheed Adnan
Hospital for Surgical Speeialticsa, Nursing
Home Hospital Lesions were located in the
cervical segment of the spinal cord in 12
patients, and patients.
Results: Histological examinations showed
10 Grade III astrocytomas and 12
glioblastomas. Only 2 of the 22 high-grade
astrocytomas could be completely removed. The
clinical postoperative status worsened in
14 patients (63.6%), was unchanged in seven
patients (31.8%), and there was one case of
intraoperative death (4.5%). None of the 22
patients showed improvement in their
neurological status postoperatively. In this series,
excluding the one intra-operative death, all
patients died of the progression of the
malignancy.
Conclusions: Surgical treatment did not
ameliorate the postoperative neurological status;
instead, in the majority of cases, it prompted a
worsening of the deficit. Radiotherapy and
chemotherapy have a little influence on the
length of survival. In this series, multimodality
treatment of intramedullary high-grade
astrocytomas has been shown to increase length
of survival without improving the neurological
status.
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease causes permanent morbidity, premature mortality and great burden to the healthcare system. Smoking is it's most common risk factor and Spirometry is for diagnosing COPD and monitoring its progression.
Objectives: Early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in symptomatic smokers’ ≥ 40years by spirometry.
Methods: A cross sectional study on all symptomatic smokers aged ≥ 40 years attending ten PHCCs in Baghdad Alkarkh and Alrisafa. Those whose FEV1/FVC was <70% on spirometry; after giving bronchodilator, were considered COPD +ve.
Results: Overall, airway obstruction was seen in
... Show MoreIn this article four samples of HgBa2Ca2Cu2.4Ag0.6O8+δ were prepared and irradiated with different doses of gamma radiation 6, 8 and 10 Mrad. The effects of gamma irradiation on structure of HgBa2Ca2Cu2.4Ag0.6O8+δ samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction. It was concluded that there effect on structure by gamma irradiation. Scherrer, crystallization, and Williamson equations were applied based on the X-ray diffraction diagram and for all gamma doses, to calculate crystal size, strain, and degree of crystallinity. I
... Show MoreIn this paper, an attempt was made to measure and interpret the impact of several variables on global maritime transport, including: OECD industrial productions, high growth rates of some developing countries, and growth in world GDP. These variables contribute to higher rates of maritime transport revenues of 800 billion dollars annually; in the form of numerical sequences. The dry canal in Iraq was assumed to transfer 99 million tons of goods annually. This was made sure through the economic feasibility of the difference between maritime and land transport through railways. The effect of geographical and anthropological nature of Iraq on this project was studied too. Our findings indicated that the project will not drive growth
... Show MoreBackground: High-energy visible (HEV) possesses high-frequency in the violet-blue band of the visible light spectrum. Blue light has relevance to ophthalmology via photochemically-induced retinal injury.
Objectives: To explore the spatial-temporal mapping of online search behavior concerning HEV light.
Materials and Methods: We retrieved raw data of web search volume, via Microsoft Google Trends, using five search topics; "Biological effects of HEV light", "Vision impairment", "Macular degeneration", "Retinal tear", and "Retinal detachment", for the period 2004-2020.
Results: Web users, mainly from Far-East Asia and Australasia, were most interest
... Show More