Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the new respiratory virus SARS-CoV2. It has a tropism in the lung tissues where excess target receptors exist. Periostin plays a role in subepithelial fibrosis associated with bronchial asthma. Since the Coronavirus's target is the human respiratory system, Periostin has been recently described as a valuable new biomarker in the diagnosis and evaluation of disease in patients with COVID-19 lung involvement. Objectives: To assess the level of Periostin in the serum of COVID-19 patients and to correlate its role in disease severity and prognosis. Subjects and Methods: Periostin serum levels were measured for 63 patients attending three main COVID-19 Control Centers in Baghdad, compared to 25 healthy subjects, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from January 2021 to April 2022. Results: Serum levels of Periostin among studied groups with (mild - moderate, severe - critical, post-COVID, and controls) were (17.3, 664, 597, and 48) ng/dl respectively. The serum concentration of Periostin was highly significant in (severe- critical and post-COVID) than in other groups. Conclusions: The elevated level of serum Periostin in COVID-19 patients correlated with disease severity and post-COVID lung complications. The high Periostin level is consistent with high inflammatory markers, which might be used as an indicator of COVID-19 severity and predict a bad prognosis.
In this paper, a mathematical model is proposed and studied to describe the spread of shigellosis disease in the population community. We consider it divided into four classes namely: the 1st class consists of unaware susceptible individuals, 2nd class of infected individuals, 3rd class of aware susceptible individuals and 4th class are people carrying bacteria. The solution existence, uniqueness as well as bounded-ness are discussed for the shigellosis model proposed. Also, the stability analysis has been conducted for all possible equilibrium points. Finally the proposed model is studied numerically to prove the analytic results and discussing the effects of the external sources for dis
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to investigate the disturbances of some liver enzymes like GPT and GOT level in different groups of women infected with toxoplasmosis. This study was performed on 600 apparently healthy women (pregnant, miscarriage and single) collected from different hospitals in Baghdad, AL-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital and Fatima AL-Zahra Hospital for Obstetric and children and Hay Hiteen clinic during November 2013 till April 2014. The detection of toxoplasmosis was done by a preliminary screening test LAT and the positive percentage was (29.55%), (30.36%) and (40.08%) for pregnant, miscarriage and single women respectively. While, the confirmation of positive results of LAT was done by ELISA-IgG and the results were (40%), (41.
... Show MoreBackground: The gene encoding a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain 33 (ADAM33) is known to be associated with asthma in different ethnic groups. In Iraq, among the Arab ethnic background, this association has not yet been highlighted. Methods: One hundred and ninety-two asthmatics were examined; 118 males and 74 females (mean age 38.23 ± 9.13 years). The control group was 183; 110 males and the rest were females. The SNP of rs2280091 A/G (T1) was studied here to determine adam33 genotyping status using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP). The level of total IgE was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Significant differences (p = 0.004) in the frequencies of
... Show MoreBackground Several studies have addressed the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), among Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients in different countries, and the potential association between the infection and PD; the results of these studies were conflicting. The study aims to investigate the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection among sample of Iraqi PD patients. Also, to examine the potential association of age, PD duration, gender, smoking habit, zone of residence and family history of PD, with the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in PD patients.
Patients and Methods Seventy-four PD patients attaining Dr. Saad Al-Witry Neuroscience Hospital in Baghdad/ Ir
... Show MoreThe current research aims to identify the degree to which a sample of managers in public organizations appreciated the level of application of the service leadership style from their point of view, and its relationship to the customer satisfaction index in light of the (Covid-19) pandemic, to achieve this, the researcher followed the experimental approach by applying a questionnaire that included two axes, The first: to measure the level of service leadership according to the scale (D. Van Dierendonck and I. Nuijten, 2011), which includes (8) dimensions (empowerment, stand back, accountability, courage, forgiveness, Authenticity, humility, stewardship). The second axis: to measure the level of customer satisfaction according to (Askim, 2004
... Show MoreMedical images play a crucial role in the classification of various diseases and conditions. One of the imaging modalities is X-rays which provide valuable visual information that helps in the identification and characterization of various medical conditions. Chest radiograph (CXR) images have long been used to examine and monitor numerous lung disorders, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, atelectasis, and hernia. COVID-19 detection can be accomplished using CXR images as well. COVID-19, a virus that causes infections in the lungs and the airways of the upper respiratory tract, was first discovered in 2019 in Wuhan Province, China, and has since been thought to cause substantial airway damage, badly impacting the lungs of affected persons.
... Show MoreThe relation between anemia and inflammatory immune response has lately had much attention. This research was conducted from October 2018 until April 2019, including (110) children below 12 years from both gender in some Hospitals, Primary Health care centers, Public Primary Schools and Kindergarten in Baghdad, Iraq. The objective of this study is to determine the possible correlation between iron deficiency anemia and inflammatory immune response among children infected with Entamoeba histolytica or Giardia lamblia. Blood samples were taken from all groups to measure hemoglobin level, serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Sickle cell nephropathy, a heterogeneous group of renal abnormalities resulting from complex interactions of sickle cell disease (SCD)-related factors and non-SCD phenotype characteristics, is associated with an increased risk for morbidity and mortality. AIMS: The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of microalbuminuria (MA) among pediatric patients with SCD and to determine risk factors for MA among those patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A case–control study was carried out on 120 patients with SCD, 2–18 years old, registered at Basrah Center for Hereditary Blood Diseases, and 132 age-and sex-matched healthy children were included as a control group. Investigations included complete blood panel, blood urea, se
... Show MoreAbstract Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a prevalent chronic microvascular diabetic complication. As inflammation plays a vital role in the development and progress of DN the macrophages migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a proinflammatory multifunctional cytokine approved to play a critical function in inflammatory responses in various pathologic situations like DN. This study aimed To assess serum levels of MIF in a sample of Iraqi diabetic patients with nephropathy supporting its validity as a marker for predicting nephropathy in T2DM patients. In addition, to evaluate the nephroprotective effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in terms of their influence on MIF levels. This is a case-control study involving ninety
... Show MoreMultiplesclerosis(MS)isachronic,inflammatory,immune-mediateddiseaseof the central nervous system (CNS). More than 2 million people worldwidehave MS. The goal of the present study was to compare Iraqi patients' treat-ment satisfaction with three different disease-modifying therapies (DMTs),administeredorally,subcutaneously,andbyslowinfusion;namely,fin-golimod, interferon beta-1b (IFNβ-1b), and natalizumab, respectively. Aswell as to assess the individual differences among these therapies about theireffectiveness, convenience and global satisfaction also to assess the role ofcertain predictors on treatment satisfaction. Patient satisfaction with medi-cation assessed by the Treatment Satisfaction Questi
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