Background: since December 2019, China and in particularly Wuhan, faced an unprecedented an outbreak challenge of coronavirus disease 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Clinical characteristics of Iraqi patients with COVID-19 and risk factors for mortality needed to be shared with the health care providers to improve the overall disease experience. Methods: prospective, single-center study recruited patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted to Al-Shifaa Isolation Center / Baghdad Medical City between the mid of March and the end of April 2020 until had been discharged or had died. Demographic data, information on clinical signs, symptoms, at presentation, treatment, have been collected
... Show MoreBackground: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19, a respiratory syndrome. It causes inflammation and damages several organs in the body. miRNAs play a role in regulating the infection resulting from SARS-CoV-2. MicroRNA-155, a kind of microRNA linked to viral defences, can affect the immune responses during COVID-19. Objectives: Examination of the involvement of microRNA-155 in the development and severity of COVID-19, as well as finding the correlation between microRNA-155 and viral load (copies/mL) in severe cases of the disease. Materials and Method: A case-control research study was performed between October 2022 and June 2023. It included a cohort of 120 hospitalised individuals with severe cases of COVID-19, together with 115 individu
... Show MoreLeft ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) caused by high blood pressure is linked to increased mortality and arrhythmia risk. This study aimed to evaluate arrhythmia in hypertensive patients due to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). A cross-sectional study was performed, assessing participants' blood pressure, echocardiography and electrocardiography, and Holter monitoring in certain cases. There were 300 hypertensive patients >18 years attending the cardiology unit of Baghdad medical city. The study was conducted between January–June 2022. The electrocardiograms at rest for 300 adults with hypertension were investigated. 130 (43.5%) were females, and 170 (56.5%) were males. The mean age of participants was 58 years. Forty-nine (16.3
... Show MorePsoriasis is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory skin condition characterized by uncontrolled keratinocyte proliferation and potential systemic manifestations. Its pathogenesis involves activation of both innate and adaptive immune responses, leading to an imbalance in inflammatory cytokines. Interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23 are key cytokines in the pathophysiology of psoriasis and sustain chronic skin inflammation. Biologic therapies, such as ustekinumab (UST), have been developed to induce long-term remission in moderate-to-severe psoriasis. The objective of this study was to identify differences in serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers [erythrocyte sedimentation rate, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), IL-12, IL-17, IL-22, and IL
... Show MoreLong-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) mostly associated with renal and hepatic adverse effects, and the adjunct use of compounds with potent protective effects, like silymarin, may be one of the choices to avoid these effects. This project was designed to evaluate the protective effect of silymarin against the suspected renal and hepatic injury induced with long term use of NSAIDs; 220 patients with osteoarthritis were randomized into 5 groups and treated with either silymarin 300mg/day alone, piroxicam 20mg/day alone, meloxicam 15mg/day alone or the combination of each of them with silymarin for 8 weeks. The renal and hepatic functions were evaluated before starting treatment and after 8 weeks including assessm
... Show MoreBackground: The appointment system is a common practice in primary health care clinics in developed countries. The patients and health care providers in the primary health care setting perceived the appointment system as an indicator of good quality service.
Objective: The aim of this study was to survey patients’ and health care providers’ attitudes towards the introduction of an appointment system and their satisfaction with the existing ‘walk-in’ system in the primary health care setting.
Subjects and Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted included a convenient sample of 234 patients as well as 76 health care providers from two primary health care center
... Show MoreComparative Study Between Glimepiride and Glibenclamide in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Al-Yarmouk Hospital
ackground An autoimmune and inflammatory illness called rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks normal cells in your body. Interleukin-35 is a brand-new cytokine that belongs to the immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory IL-12 family. β -herpesvirus that produces inflammation and stays dormant in its host for life is the human cytomegalovirus. Human herpesvirus (HCMV) has been at the core of several RA-related theories. Objective The current study looked at the association between RA and serum IL-35 levels as well as the association between RA and CMV. Patients and methods Blood samples were taken in the Baghdad Teaching Hospital and Typical Rheumatology Unit from January 2022 to Mars 2022 for the curre
... Show MoreCovalent modification of protein by drugs may disrupt self-tolerance, leading to lymphocyte activation. Until now, determination of the threshold required for this process has not been possible. Therefore, we performed quantitative mass spectrometric analyses to define the epitopes formed in tolerant and hypersensitive patients taking the β-lactam antibiotic piperacillin and the threshold required for T cell activation. A hydrolyzed piperacillin hapten was detected on four lysine residues of human serum albumin (HSA) isolated from tolerant patients. The level of modified Lys541 ranged from 2.6 to 4.8%. Analysis of plasma from hypersensitive patients revealed the same pattern and leve
Celiac disease (CD) is an inflammatory small intestinal disorder that can lead to severe villous atrophy, and malabsorption . Since the measurement of α-amylase activity is the most widely used biochemical test for the diagnosis of pancreatic and non pancreatic disease , therefore serum α-amylase were studied in the present study in an attempt to evaluate the usefulness of this enzyme in the diagnosis of celiac disease and its relationship with anti gliadin IgA and IgG and serum glucose . Thirty one patients with celiac disease were studied and compared with twenty four healthy individuals . Significant elevation of α-amylase activity , glucose and anti gliadin IgA and IgG were observed in the sera of patients with celiac diseas
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