Publications by authors named "Aziza Omar"

Background  Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease associated with endothelial dysfunction (ED) and vascular morbidity. The study aimed to use ultrasound to assess the relationships of lp13.3 genomic region-rs646776 polymorphism with ED and subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with RA from the Suez Canal region in Egypt.

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Objective: To assess the short-term efficacy of ultrasound-guided caudal epidural steroid injections (ESIs) in improving pain, and nerve function as measured by electrophysiological testing in chronic radicular low back pain.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with chronic radicular low back pain were randomized into one of two groups. The injection group ( = 20) underwent a single ultrasound-guided Caudal ESI of 1 ml of 40 mg ml Triamcinolone Acetonide (Kenacort-A), with local anesthetic.

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Aim: To date, functional MTHFR SNPs have been tested for their impact on low-dose methotrexate (MTX) response in small rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cohorts. We sought to test their effect in the single largest cohort studied to date, and undertook a meta-analysis utilizing stringent study inclusion criteria.

Materials & Methods: RA patients treated with MTX monotherapy from the Yorkshire Early Arthritis Register (YEAR) were genotyped using RFLP assays, and tested for association with treatment efficacy.

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Aim: This case control study was designed to determine the patterns of angiotensin converting enzyme insertion/deletion (ACE I/D) gene polymorphism in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and healthy controls.

Methods: The study population was divided into two groups: the study group included 66 RA patients diagnosed according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for RA, and the control group included 66 healthy adults who were age-and sex-matched to the RA group. All RA patients were assessed by Disease Activity Score (DAS28), ACR Classification of Global Functional Disability Status and Sharp's score as outcome measures.

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Aim: This randomized clinical trial was designed to evaluate the effect of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) in the management of patients with discogenic lumbar radiculopathy.

Methods: Forty patients suffering from lumbar radiculopathy due to lumbar disc prolapse were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a study group that included 20 patients who received PEMF therapy and a control group that included 20 patients who received placebo treatment. Both groups were evaluated at bases line and after 3 weeks by using a visual analogue scale (VAS) (0-10), somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) for selected dermatomes and Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (OSW), and findings were compared before and after treatment.

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Objectives: To determine the presence of anti-CCP antibodies in children with JIA and to correlate its levels with Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score (JADAS) and Sharp/Van der Heijde Score.

Methods: The study population comprised 54 cases, with 29 patients (53.7%) who had polyarticular onset, 19 (35.

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Background: The cost effective provision of quality care for chronic diseases is a major challenge for health care systems. We describe a project to improve the care of patients with the highly prevalent disorders of diabetes and hypertension, conducted in one of the major cities of the United Arab Emirates.

Settings And Methods: The project, using the principles of quality assurance cycles, was conducted in 4 stages.

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Correlation between cycles in human stature and those in economic variables is well established. A recent review of international trends in this area provided information from most parts of the world but none on Arabs in the Middle East or more specifically the gulf region. The United Arab Emirates experienced a transformation in economic and social life followed the discovery of oil in the late 1960s and the wealth that it generated.

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Background: Over the last 30 years the citizens of the United Arab Emirates have experienced major changes in life-style secondary to increased affluence. Currently, 1 in 5 adults have diabetes mellitus, but the associations (clustering) among risk factors, as well as the relevance of the concept of the metabolic syndrome, in this population is unknown.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence and associations among cardiovascular risk factors in this population, and explore to what extent associations can be explained by the metabolic syndrome according to ATP-III criteria.

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The exact aetio-pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is still speculative, where dysregulation or depletion of CD4+CD25+ T lymphocytes is among the supposed mechanisms. In this study, we thought to investigate patients with SLE for percentages of CD4+CD25+ T cells in their peripheral blood and to correlate this with their disease activity scores. Twenty-five patients with SLE who fulfilled, at least, four of the revised Criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and twenty healthy volunteers participated in this study.

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