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
This study examined the problematic of the ambiguous relationship between the media and terrorism and the problems that result from press coverage of terroristic incidents. The paper sought to show the classification and confrontation of such incidents had been established from the point of view of a sample of media professionals, researchers and writers who are frequenters of Al-Mutanabi Street in Baghdad. The media outlets that carry this coverage would not give up their media mission as well as the terrorists would not be given an opportunity to take advantage of this coverage in achieving their goals and objectives. Furthermore, the terrorist organizations would have no chance to exploit these means to deliver their terroristic messa
... Show MoreAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents the most prevalent type of acute leukemia in adults and is responsible for approximately 80% of all cases. The tumor suppressor gene (TP53) is a gene that has been frequently studied in cancer, and mutations in this gene account for about 50% of human cancers. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene: rs1042522 and rs1642785, and a group of Iraqi patients suffering from pre-diagnostic acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Blood samples were collected from sixty patients (26 males and 34 females) and sixty controls (26 males and 34 females); these subjects were matched in gender, age, and ethnicity. Genomic DNA has been extracted fro
... Show MoreBackground: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov2) which utilizes angiotensin converting enzyme2 (ACE2) to invade the host cells. This membrane-bound peptidase is widely distributed in the body; its activity antagonizes the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). Once SARS-Cov2 enters the cell, it causes downregulation of ACE2, resulting in the unopposed activation of RAAS. The unregulated activity of the RAAS system can deteriorate the prognosis in COVID-19 patients. A soluble form of ACE2 (sACE2) was reported to have a role in the SARS-Cov2 invasion of the susceptible cells.
Aim of the study: This study aims to inve
... Show MoreObjectives: This study aims to determine the disease’s patterns and outcomes of admission among neonates hospitalized at the neonatal care unit in Erbil City, and using the findings as a baseline for neonate’s morbidity and mortality assessment in the future. Methodology: A retrospective study carried out at neonatal care unit of Raparin pediatric teaching hospital. An instrument for data collection developed by researcher included (age, gender, cause of admission, diagnosis and outcome upon discharge and causes of death). Content validity of the instrument was determined through the use of panel ex
Foreign body embolization is a rare but serious iatrogenic complication that might necessitate transcatheter or even surgical retrieval. A broken double-lumen catheter was snared using a goose neck snare kit. The procedure was successful, and the patient experienced no further complications.
The aim of this study is to evaluate oxidative stress in diabetes mellitus (DM) Type1 by the measurement of Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase (G-6-PD), an enzyme expressed in human RBCs, is important in the generation of reduced glutathione which is the key product in oxidative stress controls. The Study was carried on 80 samples of blood and serum of National Diabetes Center (NDC). The study groups under fasting conditions and they divided as:20 samples of diabetes mellitus patients without complications and 20 samples of diabetes mellitus with cardiovascular (CV) complications and 20 samples of diabetes mellitus with Nephropathy (Neph) complications compared with 20 control group with average age (13-67) years.. The results sh
... Show MoreThe research focuses on the withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear agreement signed between the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning its nuclear program. This withdrawal has caused disruption in the official media discourse of the concerned countries. Therefore, the main question can be posed: Are there differences in the positions of countries related to the nuclear agreement, as well as those countries affected by it, before and after the official withdrawal of the United States on May 8, 2018?
The research aims to shed light on the trends in media discourse of the countries that signed the nuclear agreement and those affected by it b
Abstract The percent study aimed to determination the association between infant feeding practices and Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM). The study was conducted at (he National Center of Diabetes in Baghdad City the Capital of Iraq throughout the period of January 2001 to January 2002. The sample was comprised of (200) mother of Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) of children under age of 12 years old. Data was collected through the use of a questionnaire that constructed by researcher and which were developed for the purpose of the present study. Reliability of the instruments was dete