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.
Background: Oral Lichen planus (OLP) is a T-cell mediated chronic inflammatory oral mucosal disease of unknown etiology. Recent studies have reported an increased oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in such patients. This suggests that reactive oxygen species may have a role in the pathogenesis of lichen planus. Oxidative stress in OLP release molecules consisting of granzymes resulting in local tissue damage in the effectors. Antioxidants that can defend against oxidative stress in the body cells include enzymes, as well as non- enzymatic antioxidants, such as melatonin, uric acid, vitamin A and E. Purpose: To study the level of salivary vitamin E and uric acid as antioxidant agents in patients with OLP and compared with healthy con
... Show MoreBackground: Colonic cancer is a very common disease world-wide being fourth most common cancer characterized by abnormal proliferation of the inner wall of colon then taking full colon wall thickness then spreading to surrounding lymph nodes and tissues and finally distant metastasis. It is one of most complicated diseases with debilitating symptoms which becomes more sever , prominent and specific with advancing stage with high percent of fatality and relatively short survival if diagnosed late or if left untreated.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of serum CEA & sAPRIL levels in the diagnosis and screening of colon cancer and their validity for this.Patients and methods: This study was applied on 35 patients with colonic can
... Show MoreBackground: Patients with decompensated cirrhosis are often given therapeutic and prophylactic drugs. Polypharmacy raises both the likelihood of prescription errors and the complications associated with drugs. Clinical pharmacists are excellent at recognizing, addressing, and preventing clinically significant drug-related problems.
Objectives: Identification types of pharmacist interventions to address drug-related problems in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and assess the acceptance/implementation of these recommendations. And identify patient factors associated with accepting pharmacist recommend
... Show MoreBackground: Patients with chronic kidney
disease have different grades of sensorineural
deafness .
Objective: To study the incidence of
sensorineural hearing loss and possible contributing
factors in patients with chronic kidney disease.
Methods: A total of 100 patients with chronic
kidney disease were studied. All of them were
males. 92 of them were on regular haemodialysis
programme. Only 8 patients were on conservative
management the age range of the study patients was
18-40 year patients were divided into three groups
according to age. All patients were assessed
clinically and were evaluated by audiometry , and
analysis was made on bone conduction threshold
.The mean follow up period was 2
Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is a common form of noncicatricial hair loss of unknown cause, affecting 0.1-0.2% of the general population. Most evidence supports the hypothesis that it is disease of the hair follicle of autoimmune nature mediated by T-cells, with important cytokine role. Objective of the Study. The objective of this study is to study the association and changes in serum levels of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with AA in relation to the type, activity, and disease duration. Patients and Methods. Thirty-eight patients with AA and 22 individuals without the disease as controls were enrolled in this case-controlled study conducted in the Department of Dermatology in the Al-K
... Show MoreThe study was carried out to detection of H. pylori in (218) patients who attended two teaching hospitals in Baghdad. The diagnosis was done by Immunochromatography methods. Stools and blood samples were taken from each patient as well as other (30) healthy control matching in age. The study included measurement the Levels of Interleukin-32, Interleukin-33, and Acid phosphatase in sera of patients and control .The result indicated presence of H pylori antigen in 115 cases 59 cases of males and 51 of females , Also, the result indicated increasing levels of IL-32 and IL-33 and Acid phosphatase in patients sera in comparison with healthy control.
Chronic renal failure (CRF) is progressive irreversible destruction of kidney tissue by disease which, if not treated by dialysis or transplant, will result in patient's death. This study was carried out on 30 patients (17 male and 13 female) with chronic renal failure. The aim of this research was studied the changes in the level of total protein ,albumin, calcium ,ionized calcium, phosphorous , iron ,ALP, LDH ,CK and FFA in patients with CRF before and after hemodialysis .The obtained results have been compared with 30 healthy subjects as control group (18male and 12 female). The results showed that there was significant increase in the level of calcium ,ionized calcium, phosphorous ,iron ,ALP,LDH,CK and FFA ,while there was a signifi
... Show MoreBackground: Behçet’s disease (BD) is a disorder of systemic inflammatory condition. Its important features are represented by recurrent oral, genital ulcerations and eye lesions. Aims. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate and compare cytological changes using morphometric analysis of the exfoliated buccal mucosal cells in Behçet’s disease patients and healthy controls, and to evaluate the clinical characteristics of Behçet’s disease. Methods. Twenty five Behçet’s disease patients have been compared to 25 healthy volunteers as a control group. Papanicolaou stain was used for staining the smears taken from buccal epithelial cells to be analyzed cytomorphometrically. The image analysis sof
... Show MoreBackground: The symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) can lead to problems in movement and coordination that lead to difficulty in maintaining well oral cleaning which can then negatively affect dental status of those Patients. The aim of present study: To evaluate prosthetic status in relation to weight status and occupation by age and gender among Parkinson's disease Patients in Baghdad-Iraq. Methods: The sample consisted of 104 patients with Parkinson disease attended to the Neurosciences Hospital in Baghdad city / Iraq, aged 60-79 years Prosthetic Status was recorded according to WHO(1997). Weight status was recorded according to Trowbridge 1988 and occupation was recorded according to Erikson and Goldthorpe (1992) and Ganzeboom et al (
... Show MorePracticing physical activity is a very necessary requirement for all segments of society. . Many individuals, regardless of environment, age and gender, are exposed to joint diseases and injuries and pain in the neck for many and varied reasons. Treatment methods and techniques vary according to the severity of the injury, as therapeutic exercises, including stretching exercises, specifically fixed ones, are one of the ways to eliminate cases of muscle and joint dysfunction. Many individuals, regardless of environment, age and gender, are exposed to joint diseases and injuries and pain in the neck for many and varied reasons. Treatment methods and techniques differ according to the severity of the injury, as therapeutic exercises, including
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