Background: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are said to be inherited in a multifactorial fashion, i.e. genetic-environmental interaction. Maternal nutritional deficiencies had long been reported to cause NTDs, especially folate deficiency during early pregnancy. More attention had been paid to the exact mechanism by which this deficiency state causes these defects in the developing embryo. The most significant of all researches was that connecting reduced folate and increased homocysteine level in maternal serum on one hand and the risk of developing a NTD baby on the other hand. Objectives : to determine the significance of homocysteine level in Iraqi mothers who gave birth to babies with NTDs as compared to normal controls. Patients, Materials and Methods: Fifty Iraqi women having babies born with NTDS, referred to the genetic clinic in Baghdad Teaching Hospital, were included in this study (the study group) as well as 37 healthy women having normal children (the control group). This study was conducted from November, 2002 till October, 2003. Analysis of total serum homocysteine level for all women was done using a computerized HPLC system. Results : the age of women in both groups was comparable (mean+SD in the study group was 26.2+5.14 years vs. 26.3+4.57 years in the controls). Among the study group, 4 (8%) had normal tHcy level; 44 (88%) had mildly elevated level, and only 2 (4%) had moderately elevated tHcy level, while all (100%) women in the control group had their tHcy level within normal level. This difference was statistically highly significant (p<0.001). Conclusions : Women become at an increased risk of delivering a baby with NTD when having an elevated tHcy level in their sera, and that tHcy level is an important marker in maternal serum that is associated significantly with pregnancy outcome.
(4)
(1)
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with various clinical types. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is significantly elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients compared with that of healthy controls. The aim of this study is to evaluate serum levels of GFAP in relation to disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS patients and to compare them with those of healthy controls. Method: This study involved 58 MS patients of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) type, 22 in an active stage of the disease and 36 in remission, and 50 healthy individuals as age- and sex-matched controls. Blood samples were taken from the patients at the MS Clinic of the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, and the serum levels of GFAP were determ
... Show More
(13)
(4)
Abstract
The objective of image fusion is to merge multiple sources of images together in such a way that the final representation contains higher amount of useful information than any input one.. In this paper, a weighted average fusion method is proposed. It depends on using weights that are extracted from source images using counterlet transform. The extraction method is done by making the approximated transformed coefficients equal to zero, then taking the inverse counterlet transform to get the details of the images to be fused. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been verified on several grey scale and color test images, and compared with some present methods.
... Show MoreBackground: One of the most predominant periodontal diseases is the plaque induced gingivitis. For the past 20 years, super-oxidized solutions have be..
The purpose of this paper is to study the properties of the
partial level density ( ) l g and the total level density g ( ),
numerically obtained as a l sum of ( ) l g up to 34 max l , for
a Harmonic – Oscillator potential well. This method applied the
quantum – mechanical phase shift technique and concentrated
on the continuum region. Also a discussion of peculiarities of
quantal calculation for single particle level density of energy –
dependent potential
That the child in the early years of his life learns a lot of experiences that help him
grow properly, and if the availability of the child family atmosphere full of love and affection
and trust he was able to grow healthy growth and is in accordance with itself and with the
community in which they live, and stop method of the child in the expression of fear on the
nature of situation and on the theme of fear and the reaction of those around the child as well
as the vague positions that can not a child from its interpretation raises his fear, and its lead in
life are the kindergarten of the growing concerns him, causing his social concern, therefore,
targeted current research to identify patterns of parental care(mot
There is limited data and evidence about the effects of COVID-19 on Maternal health, especially when new information is emerging daily, through pregnancy, child birth and post natal period, women are vulnerable to have the infection, this article, aimed to show the suitable measures that should be applied for women at reproductive age who are suspected /confirmed with COVID -19 infection,
During pregnancy it is advisable to continue the antenatal care schedule, although reducing face to face visit is recommended (unless the pregnant condition required that ),and prioritize ANC at health facilities for high-risk pregnancy and during second half of pregnancy with adequate infection prevention control measures.
Regardi
... Show More
This case–control study aimed to investigate the relationship between the hypoxia‐related biomarker hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α) and the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT)–associated markers E‐cadherin (E‐CAD) and N‐cadherin (N‐CAD) in saliva among smokers and nonsmokers with and without periodontitis and to assess their association with clinical periodontal parameters.
A case–control study was conducted, including 88 participants equally a
Acromegaly is ametabolic disorder characterized by an acquired progressive somatic disfigurement, mainly involving the face, extremities and many other organs, that are associated with systemic manifestations, caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone and a resultant persistent elevation of insulin-like growth factor-I concentrations. In more than 90% of cases originates from a monoclonal benign pituitary adenoma. Aim of this study to assess the level of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in saliva of acromegalic patients, and to compare it with the basal levels of serum IGF-I. Sixty specimens of serum and saliva collected from two groups of subjects (forty acromegalic patients and twenty healthy persons). The specimens were
... Show More
(1)