A vascular necrosis (AVN) is defined as cellular death of bone components due to interruption of the blood supply; the bone structures then collapse, resulting in bone destruction, pain, and loss of joint function. AVN is associated with numerous conditions and usually involves the epiphysis of long bones, such as the femoral head. In clinical practice, AVN is most commonly encountered in the hip. Early diagnosis and appropriate intervention can delay the need for joint replacement. However, most patients present late in the disease course. Without treatment, the process is almost always progressive, leading to joint destruction within 5 years. Treatment of a vascular necrosis depends mainly on early diagnosis which mainly based on clinical findings, x-ray finding & MRI.A variety of non-vascularized bone grafting techniques have been proposed with varying degrees of success as treatment alternatives for osteonecrosis of the femoral head. The success of these procedures may be enhanced using ancillary growth and differentiation factors. Patients & Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 37 patients (44 hips) with osteonecrosis of the femoral head between May 2007, and March 2011, divided into two groups. Group A include 17 patients (22 hips) with osteonecrosis of the femoral head who had non vascularized bone grafting procedures done for them. Minimum follow-up was 12 months. We compared the outcomes in this cohort to similar hip number (22 hips) in 20 patients treated with core decompression only (group B). We used Phemister technique to make a window at the posterior aspect of greater trochanter to remove necrotic bone and packed the excavated area with autogenous cancellous bone graft taken from ipsilateral iliac crest or leave it without bone graft (decompression only). Results: We report the result of treatment for femoral head avascular necrosis depending on Ficat classification stage I, II, & III. The minimum follow up was 12 months (12m-36m).The success percentage of hips in our cohort of patients with non-vascularized bone grafting group A are 86% (19 of 22 hips), which is higher than group B 63% (14 of 22 hips) with core decompression alone. Conclusion: These procedures (core decompression and autogenous cancellous bone graft) effectively reduce donor site morbidity and may defer joint arthroplasty in selected patients & it is more effective than core decompression alone in treating early stages of femoral head osteonecrosis.
Background: osteoporosis is characterized by a reduction in bone mineral density, skeletal microstructure breakdown, increased bone fragility, and fracture susceptibility. Osteopenia is the preceding step to osteoporosis because it causes a decrease in bone mass, osteoporosis reduces a person's quality of life. Periostin (encoded by Postn), its name is derived from the fact that it was first detected in periosteal osteocytes and osteoblasts. Periostin deficiency has been linked to osteoporosis and weak bones. Study objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine periostin levels in serum of Iraqi patients with osteoporosis and osteopenia, and it is also possible to consider periostin as a diagnostic factor to follow the progression o
... Show MoreBackground: Gray-scale sonography is generally
considered as a first-line diagnostic tool for patient with
suspected acute cholecystitis. It is suggested by gallstones,
Murphy's sign, thickening of the gallbladder wall and bile
sludging, but the specificity of these sonographic findings
are not as high as their sensitivity. Blood flow of the
gallbladder wall is increased in acute inflammation.
Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of
power Doppler sonography and compared with conventional
color Doppler and gray-scale sonography in diagnosing
patients with acute cholecystitis.
Type of the study: This was a cross sectional study.
Patients and methods: The study was conducted t
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) antagonists’ therapy are expensive and has a non-responsive rate between 30% to 40% in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Genetic variation plays a vital role in the responsiveness to this type of therapy.The aim of this study is to investigate if the presence of genetic polymorphism in the TNF-α gene promoter region at locations -376 G/A (rs1800750), -806 C/T (rs4248158), and -1031 T/C (rs1799964) affects rheumatoid arthritis patient's tendency to be a non-responder to etanercept.
Eighty RA patients on etanercept (ETN) for at least six months were recruited from the Rheumatology Unit at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Based on The European League Against Rheumatism response (EULAR) criteria, patient
... Show MoreIntroduction: An aneurysmal bone cyst are enigmatic lesion of unknown cause and presentation and are difficult to distinguish from other lesions, it is a benign, but expansible tumor like lesion that generally occurs in the long bones. An aneurysmal bone cyst arising from the flat bone like clavicle is rare . Case presentation: We report a 12-year-old girl child with an aneurysmal bone cyst of the lateral third of left clavicle treated with enblock resection. The pathologic findings confirmed the diagnosis of aneurysmal bone cyst. The patient has been followed up for one year with no evidence of recurrence . Conclusion: En bloc resection can be curative and provide good results for this rare type of clavicle tumour.
Introduction: An aneurysmal bone cyst are enigmatic lesionof unknown cause and presentation and are difficult todistinguish from other lesions, it is a benign, but expansibletumor like lesion that generally occurs in the long bones. Ananeurysmal bone cyst arising from the flat bone like clavicleis rare .Case presentation: We report a 12-year-old girl child with ananeurysmal bone cyst of the lateral third of left clavicletreated with enblock resection. The pathologic findingsconfirmed the diagnosis of aneurysmal bone cyst. Thepatient has been followed up for one year with no evidenceof recurrence .Conclusion: En bloc resection can be curative and provide good results for this rare type of clavicle tumour.
Background: Liver metastasis significantly complicates cancer prognosis, yet easily accessible markers for its early detection and monitoring remain crucial. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate key hematological parameters as potential indicators for liver metastasis in Iraqi patients. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study comparing hematological profiles between 90 patients (presumably with liver metastasis) and 30 healthy controls. White Blood Cell (WBC) count, Lymphocyte percentage, Neutrophil percentage, and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) were analyzed. Given non-normal data distributions (confirmed by the Shapiro-Wilk test), group comparisons were performed using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test.
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Coronavirus current pandemic (COVID-19) is the striking subject worldwide hitting countries in an unexplained non-universal pattern. Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine was an adopted recent justification depending on its non-specific immune activation properties. Still the problem of post-vaccine short duration of protection needs to be solved. The same protective mechanism was identified in active or latent tuberculosis (TB). For each single patient of active TB, there are about nine cases of asymptomatic latent TB apparently normal individuals living within the community without restrictions carrying benefits of immune activation and involved in re-infection cycles in an excellent example of repeated immunity tr
... Show MoreThe synthesis, characterization and mesomorphic properties of two new series of triazine-core based liquid crystals have been investigated. The amino triazine derivatives were characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR), 1HNMR and mass spectroscopy. The liquid crystalline properties of these compounds were examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM). DSC and POM confirmed nematic (N) and columnar mesophase textures of the materials. The formation of mesomorphic properties was found to be dependent on the number of methylene unit in alkoxy side chains.