Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disorder caused by gluten in genetically susceptible individuals characterized by chronic inflammation that essentially affects the small intestine. Objective: this study was designed to measure the potential role of some serological biomarkers including vitamin B12 and homocysteine (HCY) in the progression of CD as well as their relations to global DNA methylation (5mC). Materials and methods. Forty CD patients were enrolled in the study with an average age of (36.60 ± 2.03) years (range between 15 and 60). The diagnosis of the disease was confirmed by serological examinations and intestinal endoscopy in Gastroenterology and Liver Teaching Hospital in the Medical City Hospital in Baghdad city. Also, 40 healthy subjects were included in this study as control group with an average age of (32.22 ± 1.97) years (range between 16 and 59). The blood serum was checked for serological biomarker levels using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Also, DNA extracted from whole blood and the levels of 5mC were evaluated. Results. The analysis of serological biomarker data has shown that the mean vitamin B12 significantly decreases in CD patients compared to healthy controls: (109.80 ± 2.53) and (143.65 ± 2.36) pg/ml. Also, the results demonstrated a significant increase in HCY in CD patients compared to healthy controls — (10.60 ± 0.41) and (3.92 ± 0.23) umol. The results of global DNA methylation showed a highly significant decrease (P ≤ 0.01) in blood samples of patients with celiac disease (0.435 ± 0.020) vs. controls (0.594 ± 0.040). Conclusions. The findings of this study suggest that the differences in global DNA methylation levels may be used as a risk factor for developing CD, which indicates the involvement of vitamin B12 and HCY in CD progression.
Functional dyspepsia is one of the most common gastrointestinal symptoms and attributed to various causes including Helicobacter pylori infection. AIM OF THE STUDY: To correlate Helicobacter pylori infection to functional dyspepsia and to identify the possible risk factors for this infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty patients who were referred to the endoscopy unit for dyspepsia symptoms, secondary gastric causes of dyspepsia were excluded during endoscopy, gastric biopsies were taken for histopathological study and for bedside urease test for detection of Helicobacter pylori infection. RESULTS: 62% of non-ulcer dyspeptic patients were infected with Helicobacter pylori, 74.2% of the patients were above 30 years old, female gender patient
... Show MoreThe practice of self medication is continuously increasing worldwide due to its important roles in curing minor conditions or symptoms. This study was conducted to evaluate the factors associated with self medication practice of Iraqi respondents residing in Baghdad City. This study was designed as cross sectional study in which data was collected via direct interviews with respondents using a previously prepared questionnaire. This study investigated 348 respondents from different age groups. The majority of respondents were male aged between 30-60 years, married with secondary or academic level of education and employed with accepted monthly income. The main reason for practicing self medication was previous experience with the same condi
... Show MoreBackground: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukins play important roles in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Genetic research has been employed to find many of the missing connections between genetic risk variations and causal genetic components. Objective: The goal of this study is to look at the genetic variations of TNF-α and interleukins in Iraqi RA patients and see how they relate to disease severity or response to biological therapy. Method: Using specific keywords, the authors conducted a systematic and comprehensive search to identify relevant Iraqi studies examining the genetic variations of TNF-α and interleukins in Iraqi RA patients and how they relate to disease severity or response to biolo
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to determine the effect of vitamin A ( 10 mg/kg ) on avearage testis weight and sexual glands ( Prostate and Seminal Vesicle ) for albino male mice treated with Hexavalent chromium ( 1000 ppm ) .The current study 40 mice were divided into fife groups : 1st group treated with distilled water and considered an control group (C) / the 2nd group treated with sesame oil ( T1) / 3rd group was givin hexavalent chromium ( 1000 ppm ) (T2) / 4th group treated with vitamin A ( 10 mg / kg ) and exposed to hexavalent chromium ( 1000 ppm ) (T3) / 5th group treated with vitamin A ( 10 mg kg ) (T4) . The expermint lasted 35 day . the results showed a significant ( P ? 0.05 ) decrease in avearage testis weight and sexual glan
... Show MoreMethicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the principal nosocomial causative agents. This bacterium has the capability to resist wide range of antibiotics and it is responsible for many diseases like skin, nose and wounds infection. In this study, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR was applied with ten random primers to examine the molecular diversity among methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates in the hospitals and to investigate the genetic distance between them. 90 Isolates were collected from clinical specimens from Iraqi hospitals for a total of 90 isolates. Only 10 strains (11.11%) were found to be MRSA. From these 10 primers, only 9 gave clear amplification products. 91 fragment l
... Show MoreThe production of reactive oxygen species in most diseases including osteoarthritis (OA) is confirmed to be the most destractive process to human cells. To investigate the role of free radicals in patients with OA and by comparing lipid peroxidation marker maloan dialdehyde (MDA) and Vit E as one of the potent antioxidant in Sera of (OA) patients with those in healthy population. The study includes 34 patients with knee OA diagnosed by doctors using different diagnostic parameters techniques , 18 females and 16 males and their age ranged 45 – 78 years , in addition to 32 healthy control 16 males and 16 females. The result revealed a significant elevation in serum MDA sera in both patient groups ( male and female)
... Show MoreOro slippery tablets (OSTs) is a technique used to improve swallowing of tablets for patients with dysphagia. The aim of this study was to formulate irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide as Oroslippery tablets (OST) containing 150 mg irbesartan and 25 mg hydrochlorothiazide for dysphagia patients. A simple and rapid method of analysis was developed and validated according to the ICH guideline using HPLC with UV detector. Tablets were prepared by direct compression and then coated with the slippery coat of three different concentrations of the slippering substance “xanthan gum’ (2%, 3% and 4%) in Opadry Colorcone® and evaluated according to USP. Slipperiness test was performed using Albino rabbits. Results showed that 2% xanthan gum gav
... Show MoreObjectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s
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