Blastocystis is a ubiquitous human and animal protozoa that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Metronidazole is considered the standard drug for the treatment of Blastocystis infection; however, there is growing evidence of treatment failure, hazardous side effects, and appearance of strains resistant to metronidazole. In the last era, many studies have been implicated in the quest for new treatments for Blastocystis infection, especially natural products. Attention has been focused on the effect of Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seed on eradicating parasitic infections. The current work was built up to explore the in vitro efficacy of two natural compounds, Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seeds against

The angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) I\D gene polymorphism influences the blood ACE enzyme activity. Renoprotective effect of ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) varies among patients due to genetic variation, particularly in Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System genes. This study investigates the genetic variations of ACE I\D and AGT1RA1166C gene polymorphisms in the antiproteinuric effect of ACEI therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. This is a cross-sectional study that included 76 T2DM patients who are ACEI users, divided into two groups: T2DM without diabetic kidney disease (DKD) included 31 patients, and T2DM with DKD included 45 patients. Urine samples were taken for measurement of urine albumin and creatinine, then calcul

The current investigation aimed to test the alterations of the levels of obestatin hormone, lipid profile and cardiac function markers in relation to hyperglycemia in patients with non-insulin diabetes mellitus. The study included 118 diabetic subjects (56 males, 62 females) and 60 healthy non-diabetic subjects (30 males, 30 females). Diabetic and healthy subjects were age-matched. Serum levels of obestatin, lipid profile markers including total cholesterol (STC), triglycerides (STG), low and high density lipoproteins (LDL-C and HDL-C), as well as cardiac function markers including, creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase enzymes were determined in all subjects. The findings revealed a remarkable decrease in the level of serum obestati

This study is an attempt to find whether arginine metabolism dysregulation by arginase activity is related to hyperglycemia, followed by changes in nitric oxide (NO) generation in type 2 diabetic patients. This study includes 42 control subjects (Group I), and 92 Iraqi patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The patient group was subdivided into two groups: Group II (54) with T2DM only and Group III (38) with T2DM and dyslipidemia (who were treating with atorvastatin along with diabetes treatment). The samples were obtained to measure arginase activity and NO levels. Serum arginase activity increased significantly in patients(groupII and groupIII) compared to control group. While serum NO level was significantly lower in diabetic pa

Diabetes mellitus, or simply diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. This high blood sugar produces the classical symptoms of polyuria (frequent urination), polydipsia (increased thirst), and polyphagia (increased hunger). The aim of the study is to measure several biochemical parameters in T2DM patients and the effect of these parameters in development the disease. Laboratory investigations including Ceruloplasmin , fasting blood glucose (FBG) , malondialdehyde (MDA), serum protein, uric acid, and protein electrophoresis have been measured in patients with type

Cytokines are signaling molecules between inflammatory cells that play a significant role in the pathogenesis of a disease. Among these cytokines are interleukins (ILs) 17A and 33, and accordingly, the current case-control study sought to investigate the role of each of the two cytokines in the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixty-eight relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) Iraqi patients and twenty healthy individuals (control group) were enrolled. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to determine serum levels of IL-17A and IL-33. Results revealed that IL-17A and IL-33 levels were significantly higher in MS patients than in controls (14.1 ± 4.5 vs. 7.5 ± 3.8 pg/mL; p < 0.001 and 65.3 ± 16

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between two most common diseases in Iraqis patients , which are Diabetic mellitus (DM) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA); seeking rheumatoid factor in hyperglycemic sera. The results revealed that ; 62.5% of hyperglycemic (HG) patients had positive rheumatoid factor (RF) . No difference in number between both gender of HG patients (20 males and 20 females ) , RF reaction was nearly similar in males and females of HG patients ( 12 &13 respectively ) . Only 40% out of patient controls had positive RF . None of the apparently healthy subjects had positive RF .

We have investigated twenty five patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus aged (35-60) years and fifteen healthy persons as control group to detect Anti-Helicobacter pylori IgG antibody. All studied groups were carried out to measure fasting blood sugar, anti- Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), anti-? islets cells antibody by IFAT, Anti-H. pylori IgG antibody by ELISA technique. There was significant elevation in the concentration of fasting blood sugar than in control group (P < 0.05), the patients had negative results for anti-GAD antibody and anti- ? islets cells antibody, there were significant differences (P < 0.05) of anti-H. pylori IgG antibody in 28 % of patients had type-2 diabetes than control group. This lead to suggestion that typ

In latest decades, genetic methods have developed into a potent tool in a number of life-attaching applications. In research looking at demographic genetic diversity, QTL detection, marker-assisted selection, and food traceability, DNA-based technologies like PCR are being employed more and more. These approaches call for extraction procedures that provide efficient nucleic acid extraction and the elimination of PCR inhibitors. The first and most important stage in molecular biology is the extraction of DNA from cells. For a molecular scientist, the high quality and integrity of the isolated DNA as well as the extraction method's ease of use and affordability are crucial factors. The present study was designed to establish a simple, fast

To investigate the effects of losartan and enalapril on serum uric acid in hypertensive patients with metabolic syndrome, one hundred and twenty six newly diagnosed mild hypertensive patients, having markers of metabolic syndrome included  in the study. The patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 (60 patients) was given losartan (50 mg/ day) and group 2 (66 patients)  enalapril (20 mg/ day) for a duration of 2 months. A control group of seventy apparently healthy individuals were included. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to diagnostic criteria of metabolic syndrome related to the American National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III. Serum uric acid levels were measured bef