Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most frequent endocrine illnesses affecting reproductive - age women. L-carnitine has important roles in oxidative stress, energy production and glucose metabolism. It affects insulin resistance as decreased plasma carnitine level has been well reported in type II diabetes mellitus. Hence, it means L-carnitine may reduce insulin resistance which is found in PCO disease. Objective: This study aims to measure the level of L-carnitine and insulin resistance in both obese and non- obese patients with PCOS. Patients and Methods: Sixty women within the reproductive age with PCOS (30 obese and 30 non- obese) were recruited from the Gynecology and Obstetrics Outpatient Clinic in Baghdad Teaching Hospital from June 2016 to June 2017. The data collected for each case included: Height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, obstetrical, medical, and medication history as well as ultrasound results. A physical examination was done to evaluate the clinical signs of hyperandrogenism. Biochemical measurements included fasting blood sugar, leutinizing hormone, follicular stimulating hormone, Testosterone and lipid profile were measured together with total L-carnitine (using L-Carnitine Assay Kit Sigma-Aldrich Co.). Insulin resistance was diagnosed according to National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III). PCOS is diagnosed according to the Rotterdam criteria. Results: This study revealed that insulin resistance (IR) was present in 51.7% of PCOS patients, which was higher in obese PCOS patients (73.3%) than in the non-obese (30%). Age of patients, serum cholesterol, LH, and FSH were not related to IR. High mean BMI, waist circumference, FBS and triglyceride were significantly associated with IR (p < 0.05), while low serum HDL and L-Carnitine were associated with IR (p < 0.05). The mean serum total L-carnitine in this study was 34.03μmol/L. Obese women had lower carnitine levels than non-obese women and low serum L-Carnitine was associated with IR. Serum triglyceride, FBS and testosterone were correlated negatively with serum L-carnitine (p < 0.05) and serum HDL correlated positively with serum L-carnitine (p value = 0.001). Conclusions: The mean value of serum total L-carnitine among the non-obese PCOS women was higher than among the obese ones. Low serum L-carnitine is associated with insulin resistance
Background: As a multifactorial disorder, temporomandibular joint (TMD) is difficult to diagnose, and multiple factors affect the joint and cause the temporomandibular disorder. Standardization of clinical diagnosis of TMD should be used to reach a definite clinical diagnosis; the condylar bone may degenerate in accordance with these disorders. Aims: Evaluate the correlation between the clinical diagnosis and degenerative condylar change (flattening, sclerosis, erosion, and osteophyte). Materials and Methods: A prospective study with a study group of 97 TMD patients (total of 194 joints) aged 20 to 50. Patients were sent to cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) to assess the degenerative condylar change. Results: No association was found bet
... Show MoreBackground: The gene responsible for encoding the protein of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) has been found to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in different ethnic populations. But the association of +49A/G CTLA-4 polymorphism with susceptibility of RA among Iraqi Arab populations has not yet been determined. Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight patients were examined, 67 of them were males (mean age 54.71 ± 10.4 years), while 167 were examined for the control group, of whom 64 were males and the rest were females. CTLA-4 DNA genotyping was carried on to determine the +49 A/G (rs231775) polymorphism using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Enzyme-linked immuno
... Show MoreThe Child's theatre was and still is the most investing art for masks of all kinds (partial and total) for suspense, aesthetic and artistic purposes that meet the requirements of those performances. Here the actor's performance is associated with two tools, i.e. the body and the mask, where it has become a must to search for the performance transformations required in order to achieve the highest level of the right performance through this dualism. This urged the researcher to address this problem. Thus, the researcher has put forward an objective to identify the transformations of the character's performance between the body and the mask in the child's theatre shows. The research consists of a methodological framework and a theoretical
... Show MoreThis research attempts to find the association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL2+166 gene (rs2069763) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a sample of Iraqi patients. A total of 44 patients and 55 apparently healthy volunteers were genotyped for the SNP using polymerase chain reaction test. Three genotypes (GG, GT, and TT) corresponding to two alleles (G and T) were found to have SNP. Both study groups’ genotypes had a good agreement for the analysis of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. The results revealed increased frequencies between the observed and expected GG and TT genotypes and IL2+166 SNP T allele in T2DM patients (40.9 vs. 40.0 %; OR = 1.04; 95% CI, 0.47 - 2.31), whereas the values in the control group were
... Show MoreRecently, Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was considered as one of the autoimmune diseases that the genetic and environmental factors contributed in the disease etiological profile. According to the environmental factors, infectious agents have been concluded to have a role in the etiology and pathogenesis of SLE. Chlamydia pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are among these infectious agents that have been suggested to be involved in the etiology of SLE. Accordingly, the current study was designed to assess the anti-C. pneumoniae and anti-M. pneumoniae IgG antibody status by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the sera of 64 Iraqi SLE females' patients and 32 Iraqi healthy females as controls. The patients' group were distribu
... Show MoreBackground: Occupational exposure to hazardous drugs occurs in all aspects of anticancer drug handling. Proper recommendations and guidelines should be applied to control and reduce exposure. Objective: To assess pharmacists' knowledge and practice regarding the safe handling of anticancer drugs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at seven major hospitals in Baghdad City, Iraq, from December 2023 to February 2024. A pre-designed questionnaire was given to pharmacists who handled anticancer drugs in chemotherapy units. The questionnaire comprises sociodemographic data, knowledge of the safe handling of cytotoxic drugs and thoughts about exposure and risk, practices for safely handling cytotoxic drugs, and challenges for s
... Show MoreThis research studies the Saudi women participation in the visual arts, presents descriptive and analytical overview on their artworks and assess development through their participation in the said exhibition, frequency of participation, and aims to understand the most important stages and changes of the subjects addressed, artistic styles and the factors affecting these results in view of female artist's attitude pertaining to several aspects such as administrative organization, judging committees etc.
Interviews were held with a sample of female artists, 17 artists from different regions and generations out of 182 participants and reviewed relevant exhibition literature during the period 1979-2018. The research problem is to id
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