4 Blood Res 2018;53:314-319. Received on August 11, 2018 Revised on August 30, 2018 Accepted on August 30, 2018 Background Iron overload is a risk factor affecting all patients with thalassemia intermedia (TI). We aimed to determine whether there is a relationship of serum ferritin (SF) and alanine ami- notransferase (ALT) with liver iron concentration (LIC) determined by R2 magnetic reso- nance imaging (R2-MRI), to estimate the most relevant degree of iron overload and best time to chelate in patients with TI. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 119 patients with TI (mean age years) were randomly se- lected and compared with 120 patients who had a diagnosis of thalassemia major (TM). Correlations of LIC, as determined by R2-MRI, with SF and ALT levels, were assessed in all participants. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results SF and LIC levels were lower in patients with TI than in those with TM; only ferritin values were significant. We found a statistically significant relationship between SF and LIC, with cut-off estimates of SF in patients with TI who had splenectomy and those who entered puberty spontaneously (916 and 940 ng/mL, respectively) with LIC >5 mg Fe/g dry weight (P<0.0001). A significant relationship was also found for patients with TI who had ele- vated ALT level (63.5 U/L), of 3.15 times the upper normal laboratory limit, using a cut-off for LIC ≥5 mg Fe/g dry weight. Conclusion We determined the cut-off values for ALT and SF indicating the best time to start iron chela- tion therapy in patients with TI, and found significant correlations among iron overload, SF, and ALT.
The aim of this study is to assess nurse's knowledge and role in the management of thalassemic patients in the Sulaimania Thalassemia Centre. Methodology: This study utilized a qualitative approach to explore nurses’ knowledge about thalassemia through semi structured group interviews. Questionnaire was synthesized through a comprehensive review of literature. Results: The results show that nurses in Kurdistan region of Iraq have a limited role in terms of decision making and there is lack of nursing documentation other than that of recording abnormal events, and a lack of knowledge about and engageme
Acromegaly is ametabolic disorder characterized by an acquired progressive somatic disfigurement, mainly involving the face, extremities and many other organs, that are associated with systemic manifestations, caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone and a resultant persistent elevation of insulin-like growth factor-I concentrations. In more than 90% of cases originates from a monoclonal benign pituitary adenoma. Aim of this study to assess the level of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in saliva of acromegalic patients, and to compare it with the basal levels of serum IGF-I. Sixty specimens of serum and saliva collected from two groups of subjects (forty acromegalic patients and twenty healthy persons). The specimens were
... Show MoreThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of omega-3 poly unsaturated fatty-acids co-administered with the therapeutic dose of lornoxicam on liver of healthy rats. Twenty-eight adults male rats weighing 180-200g were used in this study and the animals were randomly divided into four groups of seven rats each. Group I: negative control/rats intraperitoneally injected with normal saline in a dose 5ml/kg/day; Group II: rats intraperitoneally injected with lornoxicam at dose 0.7 mg/kg/day; Group III: rats orally-administered omega-3 only at a dose 185mg/kg/day; Group IV: rats co-administered omega-3 (185mg/kg/day) orally and in
... Show MoreBackground: Rituximab is a chimeric IgG1 kappa immunoglobulin that has been genetically modified to incorporate human constant region sequences together with murine light- and heavy-chain variable region sequences. People use it to treat rheumatoid arthritis and certain malignancies. Objective: The study aimed to assess the potential association between the serum levels of Factor I, CD59, interleukins (IL)-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN)-γ and the response to Rituximab treatment in Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the rheumatology center at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Ninety adult patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and are receiving Rituximab intravenous i
... Show MoreA simple physical technique was used in this study to create stable and cost-effective copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles from pure copper metal using the pulsed laser ablation technique. The synthesis of crystalline CuO nanoparticles was confirmed by various analytical techniques such as particle concentration measurement using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the crystal size and identify of the crystal structure of the prepared particles. The main characteristic diffraction peaks of the three samples were consistent. The corresponding 2θ is also consistent, and the cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles was
... Show MoreThe dry weight of the liver of Rana ridibunda was expressed as percentage of the dry
weight of the body. The female liver weight always exceeds that of the male, except in July
and September. The difference between males and females for the whole year, regardless of
months, was not significant. Livers of both sexes were relatively large prior to hibernation
(December), decreased during hibernation (January and February) until a minimum weight in
March (post-hibernation).
The increase of liver weight during December is apparently simply to meet the metabolic
requirements for survival during hibernation. The percent reduction in liver weight during
hibernation was 1.081% in males and 1.356% in females. The decrease