Background: Several infectious lung diseases often develop in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), especially during immunosuppressive medication, including disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The present study aimed to determine the role of respiratory tract bacterial infection in RA activity. Methods: Blood and sputum samples were collected from 31 patients with RA and 12 healthy subjects as control. The bacterial isolates were isolated and identified in collected sputum by biochemical tests and Vitec 2 system. Results: In the present study, thirty-one patients with RA were compared with 12 healthy subjects. Eight patients with RA were not infected with pathogenic bacteria (RA-NIPB) (25.8%). Twenty-three RA patients wer
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that involves autoantibodies attacking and weakening joints. RA is characterized by leukocyte (Monocyte, Lymphocyte mast cell .etc) infiltrations into the synovial compartment leading to inflammation in the synovial membrane. Synovitis leads to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinases, chemokines, complement proteins, and growth factors. Objective: The current study pointed to verify the diagnostic values of interleukin -17 A and interleukin -18 in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and the effect of treatment thereon. Study subjects and methods: A total of 88 samples with RA were selected from the health clinics of AL-Yarmouk
... Show MoreAbstract Introduction: MMP3 plays a crucial role in the process of bone erosion in the pathomechanism of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It acts by removing the outer osteoid layer, which allows the osteoclasts to tightly connect and carry out the subsequent damage to the underlying bone. MMP3 can trigger the production of other MMPs like MMP-1, MMP-7, and MMP-9, it plays a pivotal role in the remodeling of connective tissues. Aim of the study: to assess the influence of MMP-3 serum levels and single-nucleotide polymorphisms of rs679620 in the rheumatoid arthritis patients' group in comparison to the control group. Subjects: eighty eight samples, 45 rheumatoid arthritis patients after being referred by their treating physician for regular RA
... Show MoreABSTRACT Background: chronic periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis are widely prevalent diseases and are characterized by tissue destruction due to chronic inflammation. Recently, there is growing evidence that the two diseases share many pathological features the aims of the study To determine the periodontal health status in patient have chronic periodontitis with rheumatoid arthritis and compare it with those having chronic periodontitis without Rheumatoid arthritis and determine the serum levels of interleukin -17(IL-17), tumor necrosis factor- alpha (TNF-α ) in both groups and compare with the control group (subject samples neither have periodontitis nor arthritis ) and correlate these immunological markers with the periodontal p
... Show MoreThere is a growing interest in studying the effects of arthritis on a person's work productivity using a growing variety of outcome indicators.
To develop a valid and reliable shortened version of the Workplace Activity Limitation Scale 12 (WALS‐12) for assessing work productivity limitations in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
A cross‐sectional study involving 277 RA patients was conducted. An exploratory factor analysis on WALS‐12 was used for item reduction on the first sample. Then confirmatory factor ana
Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) formerly called non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes is a common disease. Rheumatoid factor is a well-established test used in the diagnosis and follows the prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Rheumatoid factor is sometimes found in serum of patients with other diseases including diabetes mellitus (DM), due to the presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF- α which play an important role in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of the study is to investigate the associations between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in scope of rheumatoid factor (RF), hyperglycemia a
... Show MoreThe study objective was to conduct Pharmacoeconomics study (cost-effective analysis) between infliximab reference (Remicade) and its biosimilar (Remsima) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Iraqi hospitals.
This is a retrospective multicenter pharmacoeconomic analysis conducted at two large teaching governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq which provided infliximab to patients with RA. Data were collected from patient’s medical records and face-to-face interviews with the patients from December 2021 to April 2022.
The study included 57 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The patients were categorized into two groups according to the type of infliximab they received over 30 weeks: 27 patients received
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