Background: Pruritus often constitutes a major problem for patients with end stage renal disease. The pathophysiological mechanism of chronic kidney disease -associated pruritus is poorly defined.Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of uremic pruritus in dialysis patients and their correlation with the laboratory and clinical parameters in some Iraqi patients with chronic renal disease.Patients & methods: This analytic, descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed on 103 patients on haemodialysis. Blood urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and parathyroid hormone were determined. Complete blood count was also performed.Results: Of the 103 patients included in the study the, 79 patients (76.7%) had pruritus of whom, 27 (34.1%) had mild pruritus, 30 (38%) had moderate and 22 (27.9%) had severe pruritus. No significant association (p> 0.05) was found between pruritus and each of age and haemodialysis duration. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cells, neutrophils, eoisinophils, basophils mean values among patients who had no pruritus, mild, moderate and severe pruritus. A significant positive correlation (p > 0.05) was found between severity of pruritus in pruritic patients and each of age, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels.Conclusion: Our study showed that age, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels had a significant positive correlation with the severity of pruritus in pruritic patients.

Background: Pruritus often constitutes a major problem for patients with end stage renal disease. The pathophysiological mechanism of chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus is poorly defined. Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of uremic pruritus in dialysis patients and their correlation with the laboratory and clinical parameters in some Iraqi patients with chronic renal disease. Patients & methods: This analytic, descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed on 103 patients on haemodialysis. Blood urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and parathyroid hormone were determined. Complete blood count was also performed. Results: Of the 103 patients included in the study the, 79 patients (76.7%) had pruritus of whom, 27 (34.1%) had mild pruritus, 30 (38%) had moderate and 22 (27.9%) had severe pruritus. No significant association (p> 0.05) was found between pruritus and each of age and haemodialysis duration. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cells, neutrophils, eoisinophils, basophils mean values among patients who had no pruritus, mild, moderate and severe pruritus. A significant positive correlation (p > 0.05) was found between severity of pruritus in pruritic patients and each of age, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels. Conclusion: Our study showed that age, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels had a significant positive correlation with the severity of pruritus in pruritic patients.

No abstract

Background: The B-Cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a commonest leukemia in elderly individuals characterized by progressive accumulation of mature lymphocyte in bone marrow and peripheral blood that tend to be immortal. The identification of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) has been correlated with disease aggressiveness in malignancies. The previous researchers showed that the hTERT expression could serve as a molecular prognostic marker for B-CLL patients. However, due to the disease differences in prevalence and aggressiveness between the western and eastern countries, there is still a need to see the correlation of hTERT in B-CLL patients of the eastern world. Aim:To test the quantitative assessment of hTERT gene expression in B-CLL patients and its prognostic value in correlation with clinical staging of disease in Iraqi patients. Patients and Methods:we used the TRAP assay to assess the hTERT gene expression in mononuclear blood cells from 43 B-CLL patients. Results:The hTERT gene expression was detected in 79.1% of B-CLL patients and no positive expression in control group (P=0.001). The hTERT gene expression tends to be significantly higher in advanced B-CLL stage (P=0.0001). Also, the expression was higher among elderly patients, patients with lower hematological parameters, patients with splenomegaly or hepatomegaly, patients with a history of hypertension or diabetes mellitus, and patients with high immunophenotype score. Conclusion:Our research suggests that the hTERT expression could serve as a prognostic marker for Iraqi patients with B-CLL as well as western countries.

Introduction Gene rearrangements of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) play a significant role in categorizing patients and provide valuable information about prognosis and treatment choices. However, in Iraq, the prevalence and prognostic significance of gene rearrangements in AML have not been previously examined. Methods This study utilized a multiplex reverse transcription real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) system to identify gene rearrangements in a group of 115 adult patients from Iraq who had been diagnosed with De Novo AML. The diagnosis of AML was confirmed through blood film and flow cytometry. The ethical committee of the College of Medicine at the University of Baghdad provided approval for this research study. Results In this study, 66.1% of the patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) exhibited distinct genetic abnormalities. Among these abnormalities, the most frequent was the rearrangement involving the KMT2A gene, observed in 19.9% of the patients. The risk stratification analysis revealed that 40% of the patients were classified as having a favorable risk, 4.3% as intermediate risk, and 25.2% as adverse risk. A subtype of AML known as core-binding factor (CBF) AML was identified in 21.7% of the cases, with 84% of these patients achieving complete remission. The NPM-RARA gene rearrangement, found in 43% of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cases, was associated with a 71% complete remission rate. Among patients with KMT2A rearrangement, which accounted for 19.9% of all AML cases, the MLL-AF10 rearrangement was the most common, although only one patient with KMT2A rearrangement achieved complete remission. Furthermore, the analysis of demographic data revealed a significant association between increased risk and advanced age, presence of comorbidities, and FAB classification (M0 subtype). Conclusion The prevalence of genetic rearrangements in Iraqi De Novo AML patients is higher than the global trend, highlighting the importance of genetic characterization in risk assessment and treatment decisions.