Objective(s): To measure serum C-reactive protein (CRP) titer as a predictive diagnosis of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV)
infection.
Methodology: Two hundred and ten patients with acute HCV infection and 234 apparently healthy individuals as
control group were enrolled in this study in Baghdad medical city (Teaching Laboratories). The patents include
74(35.2%) females and 136 (64.8%) males with mean age (27±16.5) years. The control group includes 114 (48.7%)
females and 120 (51.3%) males with mean age (26±5.8) years. Blood samples were collected from out patients from
Alfadul in Baghdad city. Sera were separated and stored at 20 0
C. The diagnosis of acute HCV infection was based on
detection of HC Ag and anti- HCV IgM and standard liver function tests. Determination of CRP titer was assessed by
semi-quantitative tube agglutination test. All data were statistically analyzed.
Results: Based on 95% percentile, the baseline CRP titer in healthy individuals was 1:8 (16mg/l) and for patients 1:512
(1024mg/l). There was a statistically significant increase in the mean CRP titer in patients with acute HCV infection
compared to healthy individuals (P< 0.001) .The validly of CRP titer 1: 64 as a cut –off value to predict HCV infection
provide a sensitivity and specificity of 100 % and 96% respectively. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation
between CRP titer and liver function test values.
Recommendation:
Therefore, in further studies, we recommends the evaluation of C- reactive protein titer in patients with acute
hepatitis B Virus infection and patients with non–infectious diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus
and hyperlipidemia infection, and compare between them.
The aim of this study is to know the effect of using locally manufactured fishmeal and its nutritional value note that its manufactured from uneconomical local fish are not for human consumption. Cyprinus carpio fed with three different diets levels of locally manufactured fishmeal at a rate of 0.03 and 0.05 of the body weight. For control treatment (C1), the second treatment (C2) and the third treatment (C3). It was found that the C3 was superior to the first two parameters, control (C1) and (C2), in most of the studied standards with a high significance level (P≥0.05). The average final weight of the fish in the third parameter (C3) was 7.75g. The daily growth rate (DGR) of the th
A freshwater bivalve plays a crucial function in aquatic habitats as the filtered water and burrowing mussels mix the sediment, thus increasing oxygen content and making the ecosystem healthier. The aim of the study is to see how chlorpyrifos affects biochemical markers in freshwater mussel Unio tigridis. About 180 individuals per taxon and water samples were collected from the Qandil water resource on the Greater Zab River, Erbil Province, Iraq. Once arrived at the lab, the individuals were kept in aquaria with river water and an air-conditioned room Temperature: 25±2 and Light: 12h/12h and acclimatized to laboratory conditions for seven days in aged tap water. The mussel's identification molecularly and the DNA sequence of t
... Show MoreBackground : It has been suggested that pretreatment with a statin agent prior to
myocardial infarction limits myocardial
creatine kinase release, and thus may act to
limit myocardial infarct size in humans.
Objective : To examine the effect of very
early statin initiation for acute myocardial
infarction (AMI), to the extent of
myonecrosis as manifested by peak serum
creatine kinase levels.
Methods : Patients with AMI admitted to AlKindy teaching hospital cardiac care unit
from 1st February 2007 to 28th February
2008, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria
cited in the present study, were randomly
assigned into two study groups. The statin
group patients have received a single oral
dose of 40 mg
Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) could be considered as the furthermost significant modern high compressive strength concrete. In this study, an experimental investigation on the impact of micro steel fiber volume fraction ratio and gamma ray irradiation duration influence upon the compressive strength of RPC is presented. Three volume fraction ratios (0.0, 1.0 and 1.5) % was implemented. For each percentage of the adopted fiber ratios, six different irradiation duration was considered; these are (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) days. Gamma source (Cs-137) of energy (0.662) MeV and activity (6) mci was used. In a case of zero volume fraction ratio, the experimental results showed that gamma ray had a significant influence on the reducing of the
... Show MoreForty – two elderly hypothyroidism patients and forty – two apparently healthy as control groups , divided to (21) male (M) and (21) female (F) also (21) control male C(M) and (21) control female C(F) aged > 60 years, were tested for the presence of thyroid peroxidase autoantibody (TPo – Ab) and thyroglobulin auto antibody (Tg – Ab) , also for Se and Zn levels in their sera . The results revealed a significant increase in (TPO – Ab) and (Tg – Ab) for group (M) and (F) compared to control group , also a siginificant increase in TPo – Ab and Tg – Ab for (F) compared to (M) was found. A significant decrease in Se and Zn level for (M) and (F) compared to control group, while no significant difference between (M) and (F). In conc
... Show MoreBackground: Diabetes mellitus a major factor that has adverse effects on the vascular system and the heart. It causes an increase in cardiac muscle thickness, resulting in decreased compliance and increased peripheral arterial stiffness. This study aims to assess the left ventricular mass (LVM) and left ventricular hemodynamic changes in diabetic patients measured by Doppler echocardiography. Patients and Methods: The study included 50 diabetic patients ranging in age between 25 and 80 years, (mean age: 54.1 ± 15.10, 19 males, 31 females) and 50 healthy subjects, aged 25 to 80 years (mean age: 48.52 ± 14.45, 11 males, 39 females). Doppler echocardiography was used to assess left ventricular function. The measurements included
... Show MoreEndothelin-I (ET-I) is one of the potent vasoconstrictors secreted from endothelial cells when needed. Many studies revealed the elevation of serum ET-I with human diabetes and microangiopathies. Since insulin resistance is a case of mixed diabetic and pre-diabetic cases, many risk factors beyond obesity and inflammation are proposed. The current study aims to demonstrate the association between serum ET-I and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Sera of 73 subjects were enrolled currently (control= 35 subjects, and 38 with T2DM for more than 7 years), aged (40-60) years old, with distinct body mass index (BMI) ≤ 25 for control volunteers and (BMI) ≥ 25 for obesity and diabetes
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