Abstract Background: Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is an angioproliferative neoplastic disorder that occurs in different epidemiological forms. Human Herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) is established as a causative agent of KS that has been mentioned in textbooks and literature. In the last two decades, KS cases were up searched through many Iraqi medical researches which have been published, but unfortunately, none of which had confirmed this association. Objectives: To assess the association of latent nuclear antigen-1(LANA-1) of HHV-8 among KS patients with clinicopathological parameters and to evaluate if this procedure is valuable for diagnosing this disease through the first immunohistochemical study in Iraq. Methods: This is a clinico-immunohistochemical descriptive study conducted at the Dermatology Center/Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq. Thirty-two KS cases diagnosed by clinical and histopathological means in the Dermatology/Pathology Departments /Medical City and three Private Medical Laboratories were studied from the first of January 2016 to the first of October 2022. Retrospectively, 20 KS cases with clinical and histopathological data were extracted from a patient’s registry while the remaining 12 cases were collected prospectively. All clinical and sociodemographic data were recorded then immuno-histopathological evaluations were done for them. Results: The most common type of KS was classical 27(84%) of cases followed by iatrogenic 4(13%) and HIV-associated 1(3%) case. Histomorphologically, 15(46.9%) of the cases were in the plaque stage, 11(34.3%) nodular stage and 6(18.8%) patch stage. The overall HHV-8 expression was detected in 27(84.4%) of the cases. The total histoscore was calculated by combining the staining intensity score and positive cell percentage score and shows a significant correlation with the stage of progression (P=0.02). No significant associations between HHV-8 expression and age, sex, disease recurrence, site of biopsy, and clinical types while the association with the disease duration was significant (P=0.032). Conclusions: Immunohistochemistry for HHV-8 is a sensitive and specific diagnostic method for KS. The majority of cases that did not express HHV-8 staining were in the early patch stages, with a relatively lower median duration than that of HHV-8 positive cases. Negative immunostaining for HHV-8 does not necessarily exclude KS in an appropriate clinicopathological setting.
In the current endeavor, a new Schiff base of 14,15,34,35-tetrahydro-11H,31H-4,8-diaza-1,3(3,4)-ditriazola-2,6(1,4)-dibenzenacyclooctaphane-4,7-dien-15,35-dithione was synthesized. The new symmetrical Schiff base (Q) was employed as a ligand to produce new complexes comprising Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Pd(II), and Pt(II) metal-ions at a ratio of 2:1 (Metal:ligand). There have been new ligands and their complexes validated by (FTIR), (UV-visible), 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, CHNS, and FAA spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis (TG), Molar conductivity, and Magnetic susceptibility. The photostabilization technique to enhance the polymer was also used. The ligand Q and its complexes were mixed in 0.5% w/w of polyvinyl chloride in tetrahydrofuran
... Show MoreBackground: Obesity is an evolving major health problem in both developed and developing countries. Traditional obesity indices as body mass index, waist circumference, waist-hip-ratio are well known measures to identify obese subjects, however, neck circumference as an index of upper-body obesity was found to be a simple and time-saving screening measure that can be used to identify obesity and the likelihood of developing metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetic patients.
Aim: to investigate the relationship of neck circumference (NC) to obesity and metabolic syndrome in Iraqi subjects with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: The study group included 90 type 2 diabetic subjects (48 men and 42 women) aged 30-68 years. The subjects were those w
Irisin is a novel myokine and adipokine, its role during pregnancy and its association with some metabolic risk factors especially pre-pregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI) need more evaluation. The aim of the study is to find whether the pre-BMI could predict irisin levels during normal pregnancy and to clarify associations of irisin with some pathological parameters.
Irisin levels were estimated by ELISA in sera of 59 normal pregnant women who enrolled from December 2016 to May 2017 at Maternity Hospital, Zakho city, Kurdistan region (Iraq). Thirty-two normal-weight pregnant (pre-BMI≤24.9 kg/m2, Age=24.03 mean±3.7standard deviation) and 27 overweight/obese-pregnant (pre-BMI>25 kg/m2, Age=27.6 mean±3.9
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic destructive inflammatory disease associated with destruction of joint connective tissues and bones, affecting 0.5%–1% of the population worldwide reporting higher prevalence of periodontitis among rheumatoid arthritis patients. The purpose of this study is to estimate level of salivary C-reactive protein in relation to the occurrence and severity of the periodontal disease and other oral parameters among group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis Material and methods: Fifty women patients with rheumatoid arthritis; twenty five on Methotrexate treatment and twenty five on combination treatment of Methotrexate and Etanercept selected as study groups with an age range (30-40) years old and
... Show MoreRenal transplantation is a principal treatment option for end-stage kidney failure. Bone loss and fracture are serious complication of kidney transplantation, associated with morbidity and mortality. The pathogenesis of post transplantation bone loss is multifactorial and complex
This study included 50 blood samples collected from children with mean age 8-12 years. Thirty five blood samples were collected from children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1D) with mean age 9.4±0.34 years, and 15 blood samples collected from healthy children as a control sample with mean age 10.9±0.38 years. Immunogenetic study was done on collected blood samples. Concentrations of IFN-γ were estimated from T1D patient and control samples by using Elisa instrument. The concentration of this interferon was 1.575 pg/ml in T1D patient sample in comparison with 0.921 pg/ml in control sample. Significant differences of this interferon concentration were found between T1D patient and control samples when Mann-Whitney U test was used
... Show MoreLeishmania species are the causative agent of a tropical disease known as leishmaniasis. Previous studies on the old world species Leishmania major, showed that the amastigotes form which resides inside the macrophage of the vertebrate host, utilize host’s sphingolipids for survival and proliferation. In this study, gene expression of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) subunit two (MmLCB2) of the mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7), which is the first enzyme in the de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis, was detected in both infected and non-infected macrophages. This was detected under condition where available sphingolipid was reduced, with the new world species Leishmania mexicana. Results of qPCR analysis showed that there was no differen
... Show MoreBackground: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease restricted to the large intestine, characterized by superficial ulceration. It is a progressive and chronic disease requiring long-term treatment. Although its etiology remains unknown, it is suggested that environmental factors influence genetically susceptible individuals, leading to the onset of the disease. (C-X-C) ligand 9 is a chemokine that belongs to the CXC chemokine family, it plays a role in the differentiation of immune cells such as cytotoxic lymphocytes, natural killer T cells, and macrophages. Its interaction with its corresponding receptor CXCR3 which is expressed by a variety of cells such as effector T cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, and macrophage
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