Background: ;Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic liver disease. Approximately 85% of patients acutely infected with HCV progress to chronic liver disease with persistence of HCV-RNA for more than 6 months Among patients with chronic HCV infection , 15-20% progress to end-stage liver disease main transmission methods of the virus is by : blood and blood products ; sharing needles and acupuncture .Objective: To evaluate Iraqi patients infected with chronic HCV, including their treatment, and factors that affect their response to treatment .Methods :This study was performed at Gastroenterology and Hepatology hospital in Baghdad from January 2011 to March 2012.The study enrolled 90 patients with HCV Antibody positive (Ab +ve) , every patient subjected to thorough history taking and clinical examination, and complete investigations , some of the patients subjected to liver biopsy which is analyzed by Ishak classification , the data analyzed by chi square and P value <0.05 considered statistically significant..All these patients were treated with peg interferon alpha2a given once weekly and ribavirin given in two doses daily and follow up the patients during treatment regimen.Results: Ninety patients were enrolled, 66(73.3%) patients were male,24(26.7%) patients were female, patient age range from 18-63,mean age 41.4 year .The predominant genotype is genotype 1:45 (50%) patients , genotype 4:33(36.7%) patients .Only 27(30%)patients have viral load more than 600,000Uml while 63(70%) Patients have viral load less than 600,000Uml .34(37.7%) patients showed End treatment virological response.39 (42.2%) patients had been subjected to liver biopsy including those genotype 1 and4.There was a significant association between viral load and liver enzymes .Conclusion: There is a relatively low complete response to the treatment regimen for hepatitis C . Most of our patient with hepatitis C are discovered accidently, Most of them are male , young or middle age , asymptomatic or have minimal symptom , have low viral load .The commonest genotype is 1(50%) followed by genotype 4(36.7%) .Early virologic response were seen in most of the patients while end treatment response were seen in only 37.78% .
Background: 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
... Show More
Background: Beta thalassemia is a typically autosomal recessive form of severe anemia which is caused by an imbalance of two types of protein (alpha and beta) subunits of hemoglobin. Oxidative stress imbalance is the equilibrium between pro-oxidant\antioxidant statuses in cellular system, which results in damaging the cells. Antioxidant is a chemical that delays the start or slows the rate of lipid oxidation reaction and it play a very important role in the body defense system against reactive oxygen species. The aims of this study were to recorded the oro-facial manifestations in beta thalassemic patients and assess the oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde in serum and salivs and their role in the pathogenesis of beta thalassemia and ev
... Show MoreFocal adhesion kinase (FAK), ephrin receptor type A4 (EphA4), and adiponectin (ADPN) are important indicators in inflammation, tumor growth, migration, and angiogenesis in some cancers. The predictive impact of their concentrations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients to be identified remains. The research sought to explore the effect of FAK, EphA4, and ADPN as prognostic biomarkers, and their influence on patient survival, and to look for any potential correlation between their levels with hematological parameters in AML patients.
Objective: Atorvastatin therapy is now recommended for reduction of cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetic patients (T2DM), based on convincing evidence of reductions in mortality and vascular events in major clinical outcome trials. The aim is to evaluate the effects of atorvastatin on proinflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6), HbA1c andleptin in obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Sixty fivenewly diagnosed T2DM patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups; group I treated with metformin only; in group II atorvastatin was added with metformin. Twenty healthy subjects were enrolled as control group. While maintaining their usual eating habits, fasting blood samples were collected at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment. Results
... Show Moreداء المشوكات الكيسي (CE) هو مرض وبائي يسبب مرضًا خطيرًا وخسائر اقتصادية في معظم بلدان العالم. MiRNAs هي عامل جيني ضروري لتنظيم الاستجابة المناعية من خلال قدرته على التدخل في التعبير الخلوي ؛ واحد هذه الحوامض النووية الدقيقة -146 أ. هدفت الدراسة الحالية تقييم إذا كان بإمكاننا استخدام microRNA 146a كمؤشر حيوي للكشف عن CEو تحديد العلاقة بين التعبير الجيني microRNA 146a و IL-17 في مرضى CE.حيث اشتملت الدراسة على 50 مريضًا من CE تم إد
... Show MoreFree radicals and oxidative damage caused by them have being suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of migraine. These may result from distorted equilibrium of pro-oxidant/anti-oxidant system that continuously generates and detoxifies oxidants during normal aerobic metabolism. Escape of such system from equilibrium leads to damage of cellular elements with the depletion of cellular stores of anti-oxidants material such as glutathione and vitamin E. Therefore, free radical scavengers (vitamin E or melatonin) seems to be of potential benefit as prophylactic anti-migraine therapy by neutralizing free radicals overproduction and possibly preventing formation of highly toxic intermediates (such as nitric oxide). In addition of being pow
... Show MoreSeveral adipokines are produced and secreted from adipose tissue, such as retinol binding protein-4, which triggers metabolic syndromes and insulin resistance. Retinol binding protein-4 transfers vitamin A or retinol in the blood. Higher levels of retinol binding protein-4 are interrelated with progress of metabolic disease, comprising obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The present study investigates the role of retinol-binding protein-4 levels in type 2 diabetic Iraqi patients with metabolic syndrome. Sixty type 2 diabetic patients aged 40–53 years were examined. Of these 30 patients has metabolic syndrome and 30 without metabolic syndrome. The patients sampled were from the National Diabetes Center/ Mustansiriyah
... Show More