Background: Despite the importance of vaccines in preventing COVID-19, the willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines is lower among RA patients than in the general population. Objective: To determine the extent of COVID-19 knowledge among RA patients and their attitudes and perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: A qualitative study with a phenomenology approach was performed through face-to-face, individual-based, semi-structured interviews in the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, rheumatology unit. A convenient sample of RA patients using disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs was included until the point of saturation. A thematic content analysis approach was used to analyze the obtained data. Results: Twenty-five RA patients participated in this study. Regarding knowledge about COVID-19, most participants were able to define COVID-19, realize its contagious nature, and see the need for masks to get protection from this infection, while only a minority knew COVID-19 symptoms. Most participants obtained information about COVID-19 from TV programs and the public. Regarding COVID-19 vaccines, about 1/4 of the participants knew vaccine side effects, and only 12% of them had positive attitudes toward the vaccine. Additionally, 19 participants were unwilling to take the vaccine. The most common reasons behind this reluctance to take the vaccine include fear of the vaccine's short- and long-term side effects and the worsening of RA. Conclusion: RA patients' knowledge about COVID-19 and its vaccines was poor, and their attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines were negative.
Diabetes mellitus is a set of metabolic diseases, the most prevalent of which is chronic hyperglycemia. The culprits include insulin synthesis, insulin action, or both. Osteoporosis is a progressive systemic skeletal disorder defined by decreased bone mass and micro architectural degeneration of bone tissue, resulting in increased bone fragility and fracture risk, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The degree of Nervosa damage determines how much a diabetic patient's body has been compromised. The current study's goal is an estimation: Age, BMI, FBS, HbA1C, D3, ALP, Ca, P, and Osteocalcin in Iraqi T2DM Women's patients with and without Osteoporosis. Three vitamins are required for Osteocalcin biosynthesis: vitamin K fo
... Show MoreFemale infection with HPV (human papilla virus) has been established as an essential cause of CIN (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia). The danger of transformation from CIN to frank malignancy should be considered. Objective: The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of CO2 laser vaporization of ectocervical lesion high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL). Patients and Methods: Four Female out of 150 affected with HGSIL lesions were submitted to CO2 laser vaporization and followed up in 4 months later, and 10 women with HGSIL lesion submitted to electrocautery diathermy for the comparison. Results: Among women treated by CO2 laser vaporization, 3 women had negative results (clear cervix), at 4 months follow up; o
... Show MoreThe expression of the Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 gene (PCSK9) is inextricably related to lipid levels and a risk of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (ASCAD). The present study aims to measure the quantity of PCSK9 gene expression and the effect of methylation on its expression level taking part in the pathogenesis of acute coronary artery disorder.
A current study included 150 subjects from the Iraqi population, 100 ASCAD patients and 50 healthy controls. The concentration of PCSK9 in each serum sample was determined by the ELISA technique, the expression levels of the PCSK9 gene in whole blood were estimated by RT-qPCR – Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR method, and DNA
... Show MoreDiabetic nephropathy is characterized by persistent microalbuminuria and metabolic changes that decline renal functions. Researchers have been prompted to explore new biomarkers such as KIM-1 and nephrin that may enhance the identification of disease. Objective: To Evaluate biomarker levels of kidney injury molculre-1 (KIM-1) concentration and nephrin as early and sensitive markers of nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients. Method: One hundred T2DM patients were included in a cross-sectional study at the specialized center for endocrinology and diabetes, Baghdad. The first group includes 50 diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients, and the second group includes 50 T2DM patients without DN. Biochemical and clinical parameters were reported for pa
... Show MoreStudy the role of CoQ10 and IGFBP-1 in obese male patients with diabetic mellitus type 2. ELISA method was used to assay Serum CoQ10 and IGFBP-1. Blood was taken with drawn sample from 30 obese normal patients with age range (40-60) years, 30 diabetic patients with age range (40-60) years at duration of disease (1-5) years and 30 normal healthy patients. The mean difference between T2DM according to CoQ10 (12.5±1.1) was decreased than the mean of IFG (21.8±3.2) (P 0.002) and the mean difference between T2DM according to IGFBPs (0.65±0.06) was decreased than the mean of IFG (3.2±0.3) (P 0.000). While no significant difference between mean age of DM2 patients (55.5±1.06), and IFG (55.6±0.9) (p 0.90), no significant difference bet
... Show MoreBackground: The study of human leukocytes (HLA) alleles, and haplotype frequencies within populations provide an important source of information for anthropological investigation, organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as well as disease association, certain diseases showed association with specific alleles specially those of known or suspected hereditary origin or immunological basis, whether simple renal cyst is congenital or acquired is still unclear and need to be investigated.Objectives: To study the genetic aspect of simple renal cysts by detecting the gene frequency and the haplotype of HLA class I of patients with simple renal cysts, and to find the presence of these cysts in other family members.Method: Thirty patient
... Show MoreBackground: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Clopidogrel, antiplatelet drug, has been widely used for management of CAD. Arylesterase, the activity of Paraoxonase-1 (PON-1), is mainly contributed in the biotransformation of clopidogrel to its active thiol form. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of receiving clopidogrel drug on the arylesterase activities in CAD patients. The effect of receiving clopidogrel drug on the antioxidant activity of arylesterase was also monitored by determination of malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Methods: One hundred CAD patients, who were followed-up for 5 days after reciving clopidogrel, and 50 healthy volunteers were included in our study
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is the result of aninitial episode of acute otitis media and is characterized by a persistent discharge from the middle ear through a tympanic perforation for at least 2 weeks duration. It is an important cause of preventable hearing loss, particularly in the developing world.Methods. 1. To get an overview on the bacterial ear infection profile in general 2. To assess the antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonal infection (PS) particularly since it is usually the commonest infection to cause otitis media and the most difficult to treat due to the problem of multi drug resistance... A cross sectional study was done which included 405 patient of CSOM patients196 (48%) case were males ,209 (52
... Show MoreInterleukin-33 [IL-33] is a specific ligand for the ST2 receptor, and a member of the
IL-1 family. It is a dual-function protein that acts both as an extracellular alarmin cytokine,
and an as an intracellular nuclear factor participates in maintaining barrier function by
regulating gene expression of IL-33 modulating tumor growth and anti-tumor immunity in
cancer patients. The present study aimed to investigate the role of IL-33 serum level and gene
polymorphism in Iraqi women with breast cancer. Materials and methods: Blood samples
were collected from 66 Iraqi patient women diagnosed with breast cancer, which were divided
into two groups: pre-treatment [PT] and under treatment with chemotherapy [UTC] patients in