Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with polymorphic expression. B cells have an essential contribution in immune system activation via the production of different cytokines and functioning as potent antigen-presenting cells. Therefore, a drug that particularly targets B cells may represent an ideal therapeutic approach for SLE. Rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody causing transient B-cell depletion, has been used to manage SLE. This study aims to assess Rituximab effects on lupus nephritis (LN) patients when added to conventional immunosuppressants. Twenty four patients, 15-32 years old, with class III/IV/V LN were involved in this study. All were on steroids before lupus nephritis occurrence. They were given rituximab induction therapy and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) maintenance therapy. RTX was indicated for refractory and relapsing SLE. Several investigations done before and after RTX treatment and in the last follow up (done one year after starting Rituximab). Those included protein in urine, serum creatinine, double stranded DNA, C3, C4, and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR). Proteinuria decreased significantly after RTX treatment and in the last measurement (P=0.01 and P=0.001, respectively). Serum creatinine significantly decreased only in the last measurement (P=0.02). Double stranded DNA decreased remarkably after treatment (P=0.01) with a further decrease in the last measurement (P=0.006). C3 and C4 increased after treatment but the increase was significant only for C3 (P=0.002) and this increase continues till the last measurement (P=0.0006). Active urine sediments found in fifteen patients and disappeared after RTX treatment. Rituximab can be promising in treating lupus nephritis when used along with traditional immunosuppressants. It can reduce disease activity and improve renal function in such patients.
S Khalifa E, AR Jamal R, N Adil A, J Munqithe M…, 2009
ABSTRACT: Oxadiazole ring is a heterocyclic molecule with an oxygen and two nitrogen atoms spread throughout its five-membered structure. There are four different isomers that have been discovered, Because of their wide applications in a range of sectors, including medications . Some of these biological activity are; anticonvulsant capacity, anticancer as well, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antimalarial, antitubercular, anti-asthmatic, antidepressant, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antiparkinsonian, analgesic and anti-inflammatory, are just some of the therapeutic uses that have drawn attention to drug candidates containing an oxadiazole moiety. This review, we will examine the various methods of oxadiazole synthesis. The mo
... Show MoreA recently reported Nile red (NR) dye conjugated with benzothiadiazole species paves the way for the development of novel organic-based sensitizers used in solar cells whose structures are susceptible to modifications. Thus, six novel NR structures were derived from two previously developed structures in laboratories. In this study, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) were used to determine the optoelectronic properties of the NR-derived moieties such as absorption spectra. Various linkers were investigated in an attempt to understand the impact of π-linkers on the optoelectronic properties. According to the findings, the presence of furan species led to the planarity of the molecule and a reduction
... Show MoreIn this research tri metal oxides were fabricated by simple chemical spray pyrolysis technique from (Sn(NO3)2.20 H2O, Zn(NO3)2.6 H2O, Cd(NO3)2.4 H2O) salts at concentration 0.1M with mixing weight ratio 50:50 were fabricated on silicon substrate n-type (111). (with & without the presence of grooves by the following diemensions (20μm width, 7.5μm depth) with thickness was about ( 0.1 ±0.05 µm) using water soluble as precursors at a substrate temperature 550 ºC±5, with spray distance (15 cm) and their gas sensing properties toward H2S gas at different concentrations (10,50,100,500 ppmv) in air were investigated at room te
... Show MoreThe aim of this work is to shed light on the importance of medicinal plants, especially those that have extracts that have a direct effect on human health. The study and identification of botany is necessary because human life has become closely linked to the life of plants as food . In addition to using plants as food, primitive man did not stop at this point, but rather developed their use to hunt prey and also used toxic plant materials in wars. With the passage of time, the ancient man was able to link the wild plants that cover the surface of the earth and the diseases that afflict him, so he used these plants or Parts of it are for treatment. A medicinal plant is defined as one or more of its parts that contain one or more che
... Show MoreThe aim of this work is to shed light on the importance of medicinal plants, especially those that have extracts that have a direct effect on human health. The study and identification of botany is necessary because human life has become closely linked to the life of plants as food. In addition to using plants as food, primitive man did not stop at this point, but rather developed their use to hunt prey and also used toxic plant materials in wars. With the passage of time, the ancient man was able to link the wild plants that cover the surface of the earth and the diseases that afflict him, so he used these plants or Parts of it are for treatment. A medicinal plant is defined as one or more of its parts that contain one or more chemicals in
... Show MoreThis article showcases the development and utilization of a side-polished fiber optic sensor that can identify altered refractive index levels within a glucose solution through the investigation of the surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. The aim was to enhance efficiency by means of the placement of a 50 nm-thick layer of gold at the D-shape fiber sensing area. The detector was fabricated by utilizing a silica optical fiber (SOF), which underwent a cladding stripping process that resulted in three distinct lengths, followed by a polishing method to remove a portion of the fiber diameter and produce a cross-sectional D-shape. During experimentation with glucose solution, the side-polished fiber optic sensor revealed an adept detection
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to employ starch as a stabilizing and reducing agent in the production of CdS nanoparticles with less environmental risk, easy scaling, stability, economical feasibility, and suitability for large-scale production. Nanoparticles of CdS have been successfully produced by employing starch as a reducing agent in a simple green synthesis technique and then doped with Sn in certain proportions (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%).According to the XRD data, the samples were crystallized in a hexagonal pattern, because the average crystal size of pure CdS is 5.6nm and fluctuates in response to the changes in doping concentration 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 %wt Sn, to become 4.8, 3.9, 11.5, 13.1, 9.3 nm respectively. An increase in crystal
... Show MoreNew, simple and sensitive batch and Flow-injecton spectrophotometric methods for the determination of Thymol in pure form and in mouth wash preparations have been proposed in this study. These methods were based on a diazotization and coupling reaction between Thymol and diazotized procaine HCl in alkaline medium to form an intense orange-red water-soluble dye that is stable and has a maximum absorption at 474 nm. A graphs of absorbance versus concentration show that Beer’s law is obeyed over the concentration range of 0.4-4.8 and 4-80 µg.ml-1 of Thymol, with detection limits of 0.072 and 1.807 µg.ml-1 of Thymol for batch and FIA methods respectively. The FIA procedure sample throughput was 80 h-1. All different chemical and physical e
... Show MoreBackground: Acute lung injury (ALI) is among the most serious conditions characterized by an exacerbation of inflammatory response that can result from a persistent lung infection. Carvone is chiral monoterpenoid ketone present in the essential oils of dill, caraway, and spearmint. It shows antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects among others. In this study, the lung anti-inflammatory and protective effects and potential mechanism of action of carvone were investigated in ALI induced by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS).