Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with various clinical types. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is significantly elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients compared with that of healthy controls. The aim of this study is to evaluate serum levels of GFAP in relation to disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS patients and to compare them with those of healthy controls. Method: This study involved 58 MS patients of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) type, 22 in an active stage of the disease and 36 in remission, and 50 healthy individuals as age- and sex-matched controls. Blood samples were taken from the patients at the MS Clinic of the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, and the serum levels of GFAP were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Results: Mean GFAP serum levels in 22 patients presenting in the active state of the disease (6.47±3.39 ng/ml) and 36 cases in remission were (5.33±2.82 ng/ml) (p=0.074) were determined as indicated. When RRMS patients (n=58) were compared with the healthy controls (n=50, 1.89±1.21), the difference in serum levels of GFAP was statistically significant (p<0.001). The area under the curve of the serum measures of GFAP obtained through the receiver operating characteristics was 0.903, which was also statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: GFAP biomarker is an indicator of disease activity in RRMS patients, and its serum level may correlate with the state of remission or exacerbation.
The research aims to shed light on the importance of forensic accounting and its impact on the outcome of the activity of the Iraqi general insurance company by winning the lawsuits filed against the company because the forensic accountant (the judicial expert) possesses the ability to interpret and analyze the data. The research community represents the insurance companies in Iraq. Iraqi insurance, and the researchers adopted the descriptive approach in covering the theoretical aspect and the deductive approach in covering the practical side, depending on the financial statements of the Iraqi insurance company for the years of research.
One of the most important conclusions reached by the researchers was that forensic accounting
... Show MoreBackground: Studies discussing the correlation between biochemical markers of bone turnover and the diagnosis of osteoporosis in postmenopausal Iraqi women are rare. This study is devoted to find out the significance of serum osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin (OPN) levels with the incidence of osteoporosis and its major complication (fracture).Objectives: to investigate the significance of bone turnover biochemical markers; serum osteocalcin and serum osteopontin in evaluating osteoporosis for postmenopausal Iraqi women with and without history of vertebral fracture, as well as to explore the relationship of these markers with bone mineral density (BMD).Methods: Fifty seven postmenopausal women whose ages are fifty years old and over, cat
... Show MoreBackground: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine abnormality in women, there is an increasing evidence for an oxidative stress in PCOS that induce genomic and mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid damage that leads directly to reduced fertility. The objectives of this study are to assess and compare the periodontal health status by measuring clinical periodontal parameters (PLI, GI and BOP)as well as serum levels of superoxide dismutase at gingivitis ,gingivitis with PCOS and healthy periodontium groups, then correlate between clinical and biochemical parameters. Materials and Methods: 60 females with an age range between (25-40) years old had been tested and divided into3 groups ,the control group consists of (20) f
... Show MoreAbdominal fat synthesizes a variety of adipokines, including vaspin and chemerin, that affect the resistance to insulin. This research was conducted to demonstrate the effect of pioglitazone, one insulin sensitizer used to decrease insulin resistance, on these adipokines in obese patients with polycystic ovary (PCOS). Twenty-five obese women with PCOS were treated with pioglitazone 15mg/bid for 12 weeks. Modifications in fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum fasting insulin (FSI), chemerin and vaspin serum levels, follicle stimulation hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone (T), and in baseline and post-therapy were assessed. Body mass index decreased without any substantial variance after 12 weeks of piogl
... Show MorePolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorder. To determine the metabolic disorders in women with PCOS, (25) women with PCOS ages (15 - 47) years have been investigated and compared with (20) healthy individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure fasting blood sugar, (anti-GAD Ab, anti β-islet cell Ab by IFAT) and measured insulin level by ELISA. There was significant elevation in the concentration of fasting blood sugar than in control groups (p ≤ 0.05) and there was negative results for anti-GAD Ab and anti β-islet cell Ab by IFAT test for serum of women with PCOS, while there was significant differences in the insulin level for women with PCOS compared with control groups (p ≤ 0.05),
... Show MoreExcess alcohol consumption is associated with numerous metabolic changes and homeostasis disturbances of many macro- and micro-elements in the body. It has been associated with multiple pathologies at all levels. In the digestive apparatus, alcohol has generally been related to its toxic effects upon the liver. Alpha-1 antitrypsin (α-1 AT or AAT) plays an important role in controlling inflammation, coagulation and repair mechanisms in the body and most α-1 AT in the body is produced by the liver; from the other hand, Intrinsic factor (IF), which is a glycoprotein produced by the parietal cells of the stomach is necessary for the absorption of vitamin B12 in the small intestine. This study was designed to assess serum levels of α-1 AT and
... Show MoreOver the last 40 years, rate of cesarean delivery has risen from less than10% to over 30% around the world, and almost simultaneously a 10-foldraise in the incidence of placenta accrete spectrum. Fine coordinationamong vascular endothelial growth factor, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase1 and placental growth factor is important for normal placentaldevelopment and trophoblast invasion. To measure and compare the levelsof circulating vascular endothelial growth factor, placental growth factorand soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 in pregnant women with placentaaccreta to a control group. A case control study which involved one hundredpregnant females were recruited from the Obstetric ward in BaghdadTeaching Hospital who were pregnant with 28
... Show MoreBackground: Interleukine-2 is a multifunctional cytokine, considered a central regulator of host resistance against a variety of pathogens and has been recently demonstrated to exert an active role in the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of scaling and root planning on level of IL-2 in serum and saliva of patients with chronic generalized periodontitis, in relation to clinical parameters. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 subjects were enrolled, of which 25 had chronic generalized periodontitis and 25 periodontally healthy subjects as control. The clinical parameters included: gingival index, pocket probing depth, clinical attachment level and bleeding on probing. The level of
... Show MoreBackground: Pregnancy is a stressful state of increased inflammatory activity, and pregnancy – associated hormone changes can influence periodontal tissues, these inflammatory activity lead to production of inflammatory mediators. Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokines that is consistently associated with periodontal diseases. This study was designed to determine the periodontal health status and detect the serum level of IL-1β in the healthy pregnant women at first, second and third trimester and compare it with healthy non pregnant women, and determine its correlation with different clinical periodontal parameters. M
... Show MorePolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorder. To determine the metabolic disorders in women with PCOS, (25) women with PCOS ages (15 - 47) years have been investigated and compared with (20) healthy individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure fasting blood sugar, (anti-GAD Ab, anti ?-islet cell Ab by IFAT) and measured insulin level by ELISA. There was significant elevation in the concentration of fasting blood sugar than in control groups (p ? 0.05) and there was negative results for anti-GAD Ab and anti ?-islet cell Ab by IFAT test for serum of women with PCOS, while there was significant differences in the insulin level for women with PCOS compared with control groups (p ? 0.05), these
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