Pompe disease is a progressive, multisystemic, debilitating, often fatal neuromuscular disease caused by a pathogenic variant in the acid α-glucosidase gene leading to GAA enzyme deficiency and lysosomal glycogen accumulation. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of early onset Pompe disease in Basra, using the dried blood spot (DBS) as a screening tool, also to determine the spectrum of presentation. Materials and Methods: In a prospective study conducted in Basrah, Iraq, from October 2021 to September 2023, all infants with a family member diagnosed as a case of Pompe disease, hypotonia, or ventricular hypertrophy referred to the pediatric cardiology unit in Basra Cardiac Hospital were subjected to echocardiographic examination and assessment of GAA enzyme level, and genetic study by dried blood spot. Results: Thirty patients with confirmed Pompe disease were evaluated (12 males and 18 females), and the mean age of presentation was 3.7 months. The level of CK raged from 123 to 1471 (mean 614.3 ± 247), and the level of GAA activity ranged from 0.0 to 0.3 (mean 0.123 ± 0.07). All infants were homozygous for mutations in GAA. The most commonly encountered mutation was c.1314C>A. Conclusion: Pompe disease is an underestimated disease in Iraq, and the delay in the diagnosis results in established, irreversible myopathic changes even with enzyme replacement therapy and results in high mortality, so a high index of suspicion and early diagnosis will help to provide proper therapy and will help to provide a better quality of life for such patients
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive disorder that affects cognitive brain functions and starts many years before its clinical manifestations. A biomarker that provides a quantitative measure of changes in the brain due to AD in the early stages would be useful for early diagnosis of AD, but this would involve dealing with large numbers of people because up to 50% of dementia sufferers do not receive formal diagnosis. Thus, there is a need for accurate, low-cost, and easy to use biomarkers that could be used to detect AD in its early stages. Potentially, electroencephalogram (EEG) based biomarkers can play a vital role in early diagnosis of AD as they can fulfill these needs. This is a cross-sectional study that aims to demon
... Show MoreBackground:This is a prospective study of three children presented to us in the Orbital clinic in AL ShahidGazi Al Hariri Hospital with painless proptosiswith suspension of Hydatid disease.Objectives: : Orbital hydatid disease is a rare lesion accounting for less than 1% of the total lesions of the body (1, 2). Orbital cysts presented as a primary lesion in our study which is rare to have such lesion without involvement of other organs (3). Humans represent the intermediate host where the commonly affected organ are liver and the lung (10-15%) (4). Methods:This is a prospective study of three Children presented to us in the Orbital clinic in Al Shahid Ghazi Alhariri Hospital with painless proptosis with suspension of Hydatid disease, dep
... Show MoreBackground : Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of chronic gastrointestinal diseases in which patient may be asymptomatic or was complained from heartburn and regurgitation or pulmonary symptoms. Aim of the study : Examine the serum level of sHLA-G in GERD patients and can be used as a biomarker for early detection of GERD disease. Materials and methods : The design of the study was a case- control prospective enrolled forty patients consulted Gastroenterology Unit- Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital, were diagnosed as GERD by their physician, and compared to second forty control healthy group form January-2023 to May-2024. Serum used for quantitative assessment of soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent a
... Show MoreResearchers have recently increased their focus on the link between autoimmune diseases and infections. Most of the recent research indicates that silent human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), may have diverse roles in the initiation, development, and exacerbation of autoimmune diseases, such as coeliac Disease (CD) and inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of HCMV infection in Iraqi patients with CD. Serum samples were obtained from 60 patients with CD, and from 60 healthy subjects. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the Anti-Transglutaminase IgG/IgA, Anti-gliadin IgA/ IgG, as well as the HCMV IgM/ IgG levels in the serum samples. Significantly higher percentage of positivity for seru
... Show MoreMultilayer reservoirs are currently modeled as a single zone system by averaging the reservoir parameters associated with each reservoir zone. However, this type of modeling is rarely accurate because a single zone system does not account for the fact that each zone's pressure decreases independently. Pressure drop for each zone has an effect on the total output and would result in inter-flow and the premature depletion of one of the zones. Understanding reservoir performance requires a precise estimation of each layer's permeability and skin factor. The Multilayer Transient Analysis is a well-testing technique designed to determine formation properties in more than one layer, and its effectiveness over the past two decades has been
... Show MoreCoronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in United State (U.S.). Controlling of modifiable risk factors such as smoking, hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (D.M.), dyslipidemia, physical inactivity & obesity will prevent other serious cardiovascular complications
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a group of Iraqi obese children attending children welfare teaching hospital