Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is a common form of noncicatricial hair loss of unknown cause, affecting 0.1-0.2% of the general population. Most evidence supports the hypothesis that it is disease of the hair follicle of autoimmune nature mediated by T-cells, with important cytokine role. Objective of the Study. The objective of this study is to study the association and changes in serum levels of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with AA in relation to the type, activity, and disease duration. Patients and Methods. Thirty-eight patients with AA and 22 individuals without the disease as controls were enrolled in this case-controlled study conducted in the Department of Dermatology in the Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital and Baghdad Medical City, Iraq, during a period from the 1st of April 2021 to the 1st of December 2021. Serum concentrations of IL-15 and TNF-α assessed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. The mean serum concentration values for IL-15 and TNF-α were higher significantly in patients with AA than in controls (2.35 versus 0.35 pg/mL and 50.11 versus 20.92 pg/mL, respectively). IL-15 and TNF-α showed no statistically significant differences in level in terms of the type, duration, and activity of the disease, but TNF-α significantly higher in those with totalis-type than in other types. Conclusion. Both IL-15 and TNF-α are markers for alopecia areata. The level for these biomarkers was not affected by duration or disease activity, but it was affected by the type of disease, as the concentrations of IL-15 and TNF-α were higher in patient with Alopecia totalis than in other types of Alopecia.
Elastic magnetic electron scattering form factors in Ca-41 have been investigated. 1f7/2 subshell has been adopted as a model space with one neutron, and Millinar, Baymann and Zamick 1f7/2 model space effective interaction (F7MBZ) has been used as a model space effective interaction to generate the model space vectors for the M1, M3, M5, M7, and total form factors. Discarded space (core and higher configuration orbits) have been included through the first order perturbation theory to couple the partice-hole pair of excitation with 2ћω excitation energy in the calculation of the form factors and regarding the realistic interaction density dependence M3Y as a core polarization interaction with five sets of modern fitting parameters. Fina
... Show MoreCertain bacterial and viral infectious agents may play a role in the activation of inflammation in atherosclerosis lesions. Epidemiological studies indicate that infectious agents may predispose patients to atherosclerosis as Infections have been associated with an increased risk of this disease. Moreover, a positive antibody status has been detected against some infectious organisms associated with atherosclerotic rupture. Infectious agents found in human atheroma, which may directly cause or accelerate atherosclerosis , include many pathogens but the present study focused on Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B virus surface antigen and C. In order to evaluate the possible association between H. pylori, HBV, and HCV infections and the risk of
... Show MoreHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related death. Therefore, it is critical for researchers to understand molecular biology in greater depth. In several diseases including cancer, abnormal miRNA expression has been linked to apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation, and metastasis. Many miRNAs have been studied in relation to cancer, including miR-122, miR-223, and others. Hepatitis B and C viruses are the most important global risk factors for HCC. This study is intended to test whether serum miRNAs serve as a potential biomarker for both HCC and viral infections HBV and C. The expression of miRNA in 64 serum samples was analyzed by RT-qPCR. Compared to healthy volunteers, HCC patients' sera expre
... Show MoreIt has been revealed previously that chronic liver disease (CLD) may be associated to hormonal fluctuations. The current study, therefore, aimed to evaluate some hormones in CLD patients compared with non-CLD individuals. This case control study was conducted at Gastroenterology and Hepatology Teaching Hospital, Medical city, Baghdad, Iraq during December 2021 to May 2022. One hundred and twenty male patients with CLD (age:14-75 years) and 120 control males (age: 24-70 years) were involved in this study. Serum samples were taken from all individuals and were then analysed for many tests which included hormones (Cortisol, testosterone, prolactin, insulin and thyroid stimulating hormone TSH); biochemical analysis (Prothrombin time
... Show MorePatients with renal failure in the final stages undergo the treatment by hemodialysis. Hemodialysis is used to reinstate the intracellular and extracellular fluid environment, by propagation of molecules in solution through a semipermeable membrane along an electrochemical concentration gradient. Blood catching in the dialysis machine and the recurrent phlebotomy may lead to losing about 1-3 g of iron per year. Prohepcidin hormone is an acute phase protein (type II) that plays a major role in the systemic iron irregularities as it is a mediator of anemia in inflammation and regulator of iron metabolism. This study aims to evaluate the effect of hemodialysis on iron hemostasis and its relationship with prohepcidin as an inflammatory mark
... Show MoreEarly diagnosis and clinical decision-making depend on accurate brain tumor classification using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, traditional deep learning methods usually rely on centralized medical data, which raises privacy concerns and limits the use of distributed clinical data. This research proposes a privacy-preserving federated learning framework for MRI image-based binary brain tumor classification using a decentralized ResNet-18 architecture that enables collaborative training without sharing raw patient data. To reflect realistic clinical conditions, the framework integrates heterogeneous multi-source datasets in different image formats (PNG and JPG) and evaluates performance under both IID and non-IID settings
... Show MoreThe pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which represents over 90% of pancreatic cancer cases,
has the highest proliferative and metastatic rate in comparison to other pancreatic cancer compartments. This
study is designed to determine whether small nucleolar RNA, H/ACA box 64 (snoRNA64) is associated with
pancreatic cancer initiation and progression. Gene expression data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO)
repository have shown that snoRNA64 expression is reduced in primary and metastatic pancreatic cancer as
compared to normal tissues based on statistical analysis of the in Silico analysis. Using qPCR techniques,
pancreatic cancer cell lines include PK-1, PK-8, PK-4, and Mia PaCa-2 with differ
Background: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune vesiculobullous mucocutaneous disease with life-threatening consequences. Rituximab (RTX) has recently emerged as an effective treatment for PV. Objectives: This study aims to determine changes in neutrophil and platelet counts for PV patients treated with RTX or corticosteroids combined with Imuran (azathioprine). Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology at Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. Thirty PV patients received two types of treatment: 15 patients were administered RTX and 15 patients took corticosteroids with Imuran (azathioprine). Neutrophil and platelet counts were detected at the hospital laboratory. Results
... Show MoreBackground: The iron deficiency anemia along with hyperphosphatemia are the main complications of dialysis patients. Traditional iron supplement has been failed to correct iron deficiency anemia, therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of new phosphate binder, ferric citrate, in a sample of Iraqi patients with end stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis. Method: Prospective, randomized, open label, active controlled trial was conducted in one center for dialysis in Babylon governance. Patients were randomized to receive ferric citrate with dose of 6 g/d and calcium carbonate with dose of 3 g/d for eight weeks. Hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and count o
... Show MoreA cross-sectional study was conducted on 80 type 2 diabetic patients aged 20-60 years in Baghdad and 20 non diabetic persons as controls. Laboratory assessment of glucose related parameters; Fasting blood sugar (FBS), Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), Insulin and Insulin resistance (IR), renal function test; Blood urea, serum creatinine, Calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P), Calcium regulating hormones; Parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin and vitamin D, cytokines, Adiponectin and Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and comparison these parameters between patients and controls. The results: a high significant (p˂0.01) increase in FBG level in the patients (211.34 ± 11.20 mg/dl) as compared with control (85.89 ± 3.07 mg/dl). A high significant (p˂0.01
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