Background: Coronary artery disease remains the main cause of death despite several preventive programs. Epicardial adipose tissue is a visceral fat depot of the heart located along the large coronary arteries and on the surface of ventricles and apex. Intima media thickness is commonly recognized as the initial stage in the development of atherosclerosis. The development of ultrasound machines, advances in echocardiographic devices and high resolution transducers facilitate comprehensive analysis of epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT).
Aim: To investigate the relationship of echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT) with the severity of coronary artery disease.
Methods: A cross sectional multicenter diagnostic accuracy study carried out at Ibn Al-Nafis Cardiovascular Hospital, Ibn Al- Bitar Cardiology Center and Ghazi Al-Hariri Hospital –Iraqi Center for Cardiology during the period between October 2016 and May 2017 assessing. History regarding demographic data and risk factors was taken. Two dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic measurements were done. EFT was measured from parasternal long axis view perpendicular to the right ventricular free wall. C-IMT was measured according to that recommended by the American society of echocardiography (ASE).
Results: The current study demonstrated that the EFT has a direct and significant correlation with the number of involved vessels (P value ˂ 0.001, r= 0.770). The validity of EFT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.984, cut point > 8mm, sensitivity=92.9%, specificity= 93.3%). There is inverse and significant correlation between ejection fraction (EF) and three vessels disease (P value ˂ 0.001, r= -0.507). Also there is a direct and significant correlation between C-IMT and severity of CAD. ROC analysis for validity of C-IMT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.961, cut point > 1.04mm, sensitivity=92.9%. specificity=86.7%). C-IMT is fair to discriminate between single vessel disease and no vessel involvement (AUC=0.738, cut point ˃ 0.84mm, sensitivity 100%), so if correlated with age, C-IMT above 0.84 can be used as a cut off point for the prediction of CAD. Finally, EFT and C-IMT are more likely to reflect severity of CAD than their ratio.
Conclusions: C-IMT and EFT are simple and reproducible parameters that can be used as a screening tool for the presence and severity of CAD especially before symptoms appearance in high risk patients
In this paper, we have investigated some of the most recent energy efficient routing protocols for wireless body area networks. This technology has seen advancements in recent times where wireless sensors are injected in the human body to sense and measure body parameters like temperature, heartbeat and glucose level. These tiny wireless sensors gather body data information and send it over a wireless network to the base station. The data measurements are examined by the doctor or physician and the suitable cure is suggested. The whole communication is done through routing protocols in a network environment. Routing protocol consumes energy while helping non-stop communic
... Show MoreThe aim of the work is the synthesis and characterization of the tridentate Schiff base (HL) containing (N and O) as donor atoms type (ONO). The ligand is: (HL) phenyl 2-(2-hydroxybenzylidenamino)benzoate This ligand was prepared by the reaction of (phenyl 2-aminobenzoate) with salicylaldehyde under reflux in ethanol and few drops of glacial acetic acid which gave the ligand (HL). The prepared ligand was characterized by (FT IR,UV–Vis) spectroscopy, Elemental analysis of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen (C.H.N.) and melting point. The ligand was reacted with some metal ions under reflux in ethanol with (1 metal :2 ligand )mole ratio which gave complexes of the general formula: Pr III , Cr and III La III [M(L)2]Cl , M = Products were found to
... Show MoreBackground: Despite the importance of vaccines in preventing COVID-19, the willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines is lower among RA patients than in the general population. Objective: To determine the extent of COVID-19 knowledge among RA patients and their attitudes and perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: A qualitative study with a phenomenology approach was performed through face-to-face, individual-based, semi-structured interviews in the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, rheumatology unit. A convenient sample of RA patients using disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs was included until the point of saturation. A thematic content analysis approach was used to analyze the obtained data. Results: Twenty-five RA pa
... Show MoreFLI1 is a member of ETS family of transcription factors that regulate a variety of normal biologic activities including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The expression of FLI1 and its correlation with well-known breast cancer prognostic markers (ER, PR and HER2) was determined in primary breast tumors as well as four breast cancer lines including: MCF-7, T47D, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 using RT-qPCR with either 18S rRNA or ACTB (β-actin) for normalization of data. FLI1 mRNA level was decreased in the breast cancer cell lines under study compared to the normal breast tissue; however, Jurkat cells, which were used as a positive control, showed overexpression compared to the normal breast. Regarding primary breast carcinoma
... Show MoreNew Schiff-base ligands bearing tetrazole moiety and their polymeric metal complexes with Co(II), Ni(II) and Cd(II) ions are reported. Ligands were prepared in a multiple-step reaction. The reaction of sodium 2,6- diformylphenolate and cyclohexane-1,3-dione with 5-amino-2-fluorobenzonitrile resulted in the isolation of two precursors sodium 2,6-bis((E)-(3-cyano-4-fluorophenylimino)methyl)-4-methylphenolate 1 and 5,5'- (1E,1'E)-cyclohexane-1,3-diylidenebis- (azan-1-yl-1-ylidene)bis(2-fluorobenzonitrile) 2, respectively. The reaction of precursors with azide gave the required ligands; sodium 2,6-bis((E)-(4-fluoro-3-(1H-tetrazol-5- yl)phenylimino)methyl)-4-methylphenolate (NaL) and (N, N'E, N, N'E)-N, N'-(cyclohexane-1,3-diylidene)bis(4- fluor
... Show MoreDiabetes exacerbates frailty syndrome in elderly adults, with long-term protein and calorie deficiencies contributing to physical decline and worsening health outcomes.
To assess nutritional status and frailty amongst elderly people with diabetes mellitus and to find out the relation between these two variables.
An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 650 elderly with diabetes mellitus at two endocri
Background: Parotid gland tumors account for 80% of all salivary gland neoplasms, 20% of these are malignant, but in daily clinical practice most parotid masses are operated on before obtaining the final histological diagnosis. This clinical setting further complicates the critical point of parotid surgery, which is the management of the facial nerve. Materials and methods: 45 patients underwent parotidectomy for benign and malignant neoplasms. A complete history is collected from the patients with the duration and the site of the tumor, the facial nerve examined and its associations, a medical consultation done for opinion and management. Clinical examination with facial nerve was mandatory to avoid any mistakes that may occur. The most si
... Show MoreThe Mesopotamian soil is muddy and fertile, and so from ancient eras Iraqis used mud in their building, settlements and architecture in different methodologies according to the nature and the function of the building that was either in its pure form or by mixing it with other materials such as straw . also as raw bricks in different ways either for the whale building or parts of it, or for the finishing parts such as roofing for instance. In this research these different forms and methodologies will permeate through out a chosen examples of historical building, rural buildings and settlements and ancient buildings as well as some current uses of mud in the structures and building in standing cities, this in order to conclude some
... Show MoreIntroduction and Aim: Graves ophthalmopathy is one of the pandemic public health disorders in Iraq. The current investigation attempts to determine the variation in the complete total blood cells on the recovery of individuals with Graves' ophthalmopathy following low and high-dose Radioactive Iodine 131 (RI-131) exposures. Materials and Methods: The complete blood CBC level in people with Graves' illness and healthy, normal controls were quantitatively identified using the CBC counter. Thyroid stimulating hormone was utilized to compare the recovery of ophthalmopathy patients in comparison to a control group. Results: In comparison to healthy controls, patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy disease who received 10 mci of RAI-
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