Background: Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived mitral annular displacement (MAD) utilizes the speckle tracking technique to measure strain vectors, which provides accurate estimates of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).Objectives: To validate the accuracy of mitral annular displacement (MAD), assessed by Speckle Tracking Echocardiography (STE), as a surrogate for determination of left ventricular systolic function in comparison to 2-Dimensions Simpson method in patients with different heart diseases.Methods : This cross-sectional study included patients who referred to outpatient department of Ibn Albitar Center for Cardiac Surgery, Baghdad, Iraq, between October 2012 and April 2013. STE continuously tracked annular

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cells within the bone marrow. In most patients, monoclonal immunoglobulin heavy chains or light chains are produced and are associated with organ dysfunction. The growth factor B-cell activating factor (BAFF) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma due to its ability to promote B-cell survival, expansion, and differentiation. Objective:  to measure the circulatory level of B-cell activating factor in multiple myeloma patients in relapsed and remission states and explore its possible correlations with the clinical staging, β2-microglobulin, and interleukin-6. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 60

Objective: Detection the presumptive prevalence of
silent celiac disease in patients with type 1 diabetes
mellitus with determination of which gender more
likely to be affected.
Methods: One hundred twenty asymptomatic patients
[75 male , 45 female] with type 1 diabetes mellitus
with mean age ± SD of 11.25 ± 2.85 year where
included in the study . All subjects were serologically
screened for the presence of anti-tissue transglutaminase
IgA antibodies (anti-tTG antibodies) by Enzyme-
Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) & total IgA
was also measured for all using radial
immunodiffusion plate . Anti-tissue transglutaminase
IgG was selectively done for patients who were
expressing negative anti-

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive airflow limitation that is preventable but not curable. It is associated with persistent symptoms that cause a considerable burden on individual productivity at work, and daily activities, and reduced quality of life, also burdening the healthcare system and society. Objectives: The study aims to measure the burden of COPD on patients in terms of daily activities and work productivity. It also seeks to investigate some inflammatory biomarkers' levels and their correlation with selected outcomes. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 120 stable COPD patients who were diagnosed and treated according to the GOLD guidelines at Kirkuk General Hospital's

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects mainly the synovial membranes and articular structures and is characterized by chronic, systemic inflammation involving multiple joints.Being a synovial joint, the Temporomandibular Joint is subject to the same disorders affecting other synovial joints, including RA.Beside it was considered as a specific serological marker for diagnosing RA disease ,antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide have proven to be associated with joints destruction, though; it may play a potential role in the prediction of the disease severity. Materials and Methods: Sixty nine individuals (69) were enrolled in this study, forty nine (49) were patients diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, a

Background: Benign Prostate Hypertrophy(BPH)is a common urological problem worldwide which is defined as denomatous hyperplasia of the periurethralpart of prostate gland that occurs especially in men over 50 years old and that tend to obstruct urination by constriction the urethra Objectives: The study was aimed to investigate the level of Malondialdehyde (MDA), Nitric Oxide (NO) and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) as an antioxidant, besides other factors such as the level of Lipids Profile (Total Chlosterol (TC), High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C), Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C), Very Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (VLDL-C), and Triglyceride (TG))in patients suffer from BPH . Methods: In this study ;clinical ,spec