This study was conducted to use the local Ephedra alata plant as a model for extracting and detecting alkaloids in the stem of plant (alkaloids-rich extract and crude extract). Different extraction procedures were adopted for qualitative as well as the quantitative examination of the alkaloid extracts, as well as plant crude extract, the best methods for the extraction of the plant materials were applied. Simple, fast and accurate methods like TLC (thin layer chromatography) and HPLC (High-performance liquid chromatography), were used for the identification of the alkaloids (ephedrine) in different extracts of stems E. alata stems. Ephedrine alkaloid was detected in each alkaloids-rich and crude extrac
... Show MoreObjectives: This study aimed to identify and study most properties of the specific and general health-related
quality-of-life (HRQoL) in prostate cancer patients, as well as creating a new measurement scale for assessing QoL
among prostate cancer patients.
Methodology: A cross sectional (descriptive) study was conducted to evaluate General Quality of life in patients
with prostate cancer. A sample of 100 prostate cancer patients from Al-Amal National hospital for cancer
management and Oncology Center in Baghdad Medical City. This study applied format of General World Health
Organization Quality of Life-BERF questionnaire. The methods used descriptive statistics to evaluate the General
QoL-Improvements, as well as inf
Abstract Background:Breast cancer is the most common female cancer worldwide. Although mastectomy is considered the treatment of choice for the majority of cases of breast cancer; a noticeable percentage of breast cancer survivors claim they were never advised about reconstruction. It has been proven that breast reconstruction helps breast cancer survivors to overcome the trauma of their diagnosis and improve their psychological well-being.Objectives: To assess the level of awareness and expectations regarding breast reconstruction surgery among female with breast cancer survivors in Baghdad, and to find if there is association between sociodemographic data and expectations of breast reconstruction.Methodology: This is a cross sectional stu
... Show MoreBreast cancer is the most diagnosed form of malignant tumour in Iraqi women. Tamoxifen and trastuzumab are highly effective adjuvant therapy for breast cancer.
This study's objectives were to define the patient's belief in tamoxifen or trastuzumab when used as adjuvant therapy and to determine the variation in belief between the two medications in a sample of Iraqi breast cancer patients.
The cross-section survey was conducted using the BMQ-Specific questionnaire. Ninety-seven participants (sixty-seven tamoxifen, thirty trastuzumab) participated in this study.
The mean of specific-necessity scale for tamoxifen was (3.7) and for trastuzumab (4). The findings showed a high necessity for both medicines, and there wer
... Show MoreRadon and its daughters are of the natural radioactive decay of the uranium series. Exposure to radon gas leads to lung cancer, so the risks are significantly higher for smokers than for non-smokers. Therefore, the risk of radon increases for both active and passive smokers. The radioactivity of alpha particles emitted by radium 226, the main source of radon 222, has become harmful because its prevalence and inhalation increase with increased smoking. In this study, a CR-39 detector was used to measure radon, radium, and uranium concentrations and then calculate risk parameters in seven cigarette-smoking females in vitro study of human blood samples, and three normal females with no actual and passive cigarette smoking. The rado
... Show MoreBackground: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is caused of 85% of all lung cancers. Among the most important factors for lung tumor growth and proliferation are the tyrosine kinase receptors that coded by the epidermal growth factor recep-tor (EGFR) gene. Activation of EGFR ultimately leads to developing of lung cancer. The present study was undertaken with an objective to detect EGFR mutations in bronchial wash from Iraqi patients with NSCLC before treatment. Methods: DNA was extracted from bronchial wash samples collected from 50 patients with NSCLC by using a Qiamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). Then, EGFR mutations were determined by using real-time RCR combined with two technologies, Amplification Refractory Mutation System (
... Show MoreBackground: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is caused of 85% of all lung cancers. Among the most important factors for lung tumor growth and proliferation are the tyrosine kinase receptors that coded by the epidermal growth factor recep-tor (EGFR) gene. Activation of EGFR ultimately leads to developing of lung cancer. The present study was undertaken with an objective to detect EGFR mutations in bronchial wash from Iraqi patients with NSCLC before treatment. Methods: DNA was extracted from bronchial wash samples collected from 50 patients with NSCLC by using a Qiamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). Then, EGFR mutations were determined by using real-time RCR combined with two technologies, Amplification Refractory Mutation System (
... Show MoreAryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a potent ligand for AhR and a known carcinogen. While AhR activation by TCDD leads to significant immunosuppression, how this translates into carcinogenic signal is unclear. Recently, we demonstrated that activation of AhR by TCDD in naïve C57BL6 mice leads to massive induction of myeloid derived-suppressor cells (MDSCs). In the current study, we investigated the role of the gut microbiota in TCDD-mediated MDSC induction. TCDD caused significant alterations in the gut microbiome, such as increases in Prevotella and Lactobacillus, while decreasing Sutterella and Bacteroides. Fecal transplants from TCDD-treated
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