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.
Collagen triple helix repeat containing-1 (CTHRC1) is an essential marker for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), but its relationship with pro-inflammatory, anti-inflammatory, and inflammatory markers has been scantily covered in extant literature. To evaluate the level of CTHRC1 protein in the sera of 100 RA patients and 25 control and compare levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 10 (IL-10), RA disease activity (DAS28), and inflammatory factors. Higher significant serum levels of CTHRC1 (29.367 ng/ml), TNF-α (63.488 pg/ml), and IL-10 (67.1 pg/ml) were found in patient sera as compared to that in control sera (CTHRC1 = 15.732 ng/ml, TNF-α = 33.788 pg/ml, and IL-10 = 25.122 pg/ml). There was no significant correlation be
... Show MoreIntroduction: With the advent of era of targeted cancer therapy, the serious side effects of chemoradiotherapy have been minimised. Considering the success story of anti-HER2/neu drugs in breast cancer oncology, the present study was conducted. The study evaluates the immunohistochemical expression of HER2/neu in endometrioid cancer among Iraqi patients. Aim: To assess the immunohistochemical expression of HER2/neu in endometrioid carcinoma of uterus and to find the relationship of this expression with FIGO stage and grade and with patient age. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of 62 hysterectomy specimens that were diagnosed as endometrioid carcinoma in the teaching labora
... Show MoreBackground: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic heterogeneous demyelinating axonal and inflammatory disease involving the Central Nervous System [CNS] white matter with a possibility of gray matter involvement in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to communicate, resulting in a wide range of signs and symptoms. Cerebral venous insufficiency theory was raised as a possible etiology for the disease at 2008 by Zamboni an Italian cardiothoracic surgeon. This theory was defeated by Multiple Sclerosis[ MS] researchers and scientists who thought that the disease is an autoimmune rather than vascular.
Obj
... Show MoreInsulin-induced hyperglycemia is the hallmark of diabetes mellitus (DM), including various metabolic disorders. Diabetic people are more likely to develop dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM), the most common illness, is generally asymptomatic in its early stages and can go misdiagnosed for years. Diabetes screening may be beneficial in some cases since early identification and treatment can lessen the burden of diabetes and its consequences. This study aimed to find the relationship between Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and lipid profile components in T2DM patients. This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was performed on the control group and T2DM patients in Medical City in Ba
... Show MoreBackground: Studies show that diabetic patients have a higher incidence of ischemic stroke than non-diabetic patients. In the Framingham study the incidence of thrombotic stroke was 25 times higher in diabetic men and 36 times higher in diabetic women than in those without diabetes
Objectives: aim of this study to analyze topography in diabetic patients.
Type of study: Cross sectional study.
Methods: 48 patients with acute stroke were classified into 4 groups: euglycemic, stress hyperglycemia, newly diagnosed diabetics, and known diabetics.
Results:no significant differences were found in the type, site or size of st
... Show MoreBackground: Quality of life in brain tumor patients is an emerging issue and has prompted neurosurgeons to recon¬sider the need for cognitive assessment in the course of treatment. To date there has been a lack of comprehensive neuropsychological assessment performed preoperatively and in the acute postoperative period in our hospitals.Objectives: to establish the effects of tumors and their surgical treatment, from a neuropsychological perspective, on cognitive functioning in patients with cerebral Gliomas. Methods: This is a prospective study conducted in the Neurosurgical Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, during the period from January 1999 to January 2001. Any patient admitted during the period of the study with clinical history, signs, sy
... Show MoreBackground: Cell adhesion molecules are protein entities that are located on the cell surface. The vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression is related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with dyslipidemia. Objectives: To determine the levels of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 in T2DM patients with dyslipidemia and to explore the relationship between VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 and the development of dyslipidemia in T2DM patients. Patients and methods: The study included 150 individuals with an age range of (35-55) years. Patients with diabetes for more than 5 years were excluded. Fifty healthy individuals constituted Group 1 (G1), fifty patients with T2DM constituted Group 2 (G2), and fifty T2DM p
... Show MorePapillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) represents the most prevalent kind of thyroid gland cancer, making up around 80% of all occurrences of thyroid cancer. Evidence shows that Syndecan-1 (SDC-1) expression is lost in a number of benign and malignant epithelial neoplasms, although its expression profile in thyroid gland neoplasms is yet unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess SDC-1 expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma patients, as well as the relationship between age and gender and SDC-1 expression. To undertake a detailed investigation of SDC-1 in normal and malignant tissues, tissue sections were used to examine SDC-1 expression in 70 tissue samples, 50 distinct PTC (6 males and 44 females) and 20 normal tissue ty
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