Objectives: 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 secondly, non-diabetic controls (11 male, 9 female) were selected from the patients attending Ibn AL-Haitham hospital for ophthalmology and a specialized center for endocrinology and diabetes. Venous blood samples of all participants were drawn after an overnight fast, and serum samples were stored at -20ºC until DKK-1 assay. Results: Serum DKK-1 showed significantly lower levels in diabetic patients with (6.1 ± 2 ng/mL) or without DR (14 ± 6.2 ng/mL) when compared to those of controls (34 ± 12.25 ng/mL) (p 0.05). Furthermore, serum DKK-1 levels were lower in the late stage of DR compared to the early stage 5.6 ± 1.7 and 7 ± 1.9 ng/mL, respectively. Furthermore, DPP-4 inhibitors cause a better increment in DKK-1 levels when compared to SU in the NDR group. Conclusions: Reduced serum levels of DKK-1 are related to the existence and worsening of DR and have the prospect to serve as an indicator for this condition.
Disabled people are among the most important groups that need attention, care, and financial and moral care. They cannot fulfill the requirement of life normally without care from a person to meet their special needs. The disability is either mental or physical. The Iraqi government has paid attention to this category by adopting a law for this category, represented by Law No. (38) for the year (2013), which keeps their rights and duties in Iraqi society by establishing institution of persons with disabilities and special needs of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to create a modern society politically, socially, culturally or economically. In view of the importance of this group in society, the media reinforces the communit
... Show MoreBackground: Mouth breathing can lead to introduce cold, dry unprepared air that insults the tissue of oral cavity, nasopharynx and lung, leading in turn to pathological changes in oronasal cavity, nasopharyngeal and other respiratory tissue, mouth breathing associated with nasal obstruction may lead to many health problems, in particular oral health problems such as inflammation of gingiva, oral dryness, change in oral environment that may decrease pH, salivary flow rate and increase bacteria and dental caries.Aims of the present study were to assess the oral health condition among mouth breather associated with nasal obstruction, including dental caries, oral cleanliness and gingival health condition as well as to evaluate the changes in s
... Show MoreCognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most important relatively recent; treatment programs that attempt to modify behavior and control psychological disorders by modifying the individual's thinking style and awareness of himself and his environment, and cognitive reconstruction by replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. The current study aimed to know the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral treatment program in reducing nervous fatigue among mothers of children with cerebral palsy. The sample on which the nervous fatigue scale was applied consisted of (30) mothers whose son suffers from cerebral palsy, and the results indicated that (24) mothers suffer from nervous fatigue. This sample was divided
... Show MoreHumanoids or bipedal robots are other kinds of robots that have legs. The balance of humanoids is the general problem in these types when the other in the support phase and the leg in the swing phase. In this work, the walking pattern generation is studied by MATLAB for two types of degrees of freedom, 10 and 17 degrees of freedom. Besides, the KHR-2HV simulation model is used to simulate the experimental results by Webots. Similarly, Arduino and LOBOT LSC microcontrollers are used to program the bipedal robot. After the several methods for programming the bipedal robot by Arduino microcontroller, LOBOT LSC-32 driver model is the better than PCA 96685 Driver-16 channel servo driver for programming the bipedal walking rob
... Show MoreBackground:Â Various fluids in the oral environment can affect the surface roughness of resin composites. This in vitro study was conducted to determine the influence of the mouth rinses on surface roughness of two methacrylate-based resin (nanofilled and packable composite) and siloraine-based resin composites.
Materials and methods: Disc-shaped specimens (12 mm in diameter and 2mm in height) were prepared from three types of composi
... Show MoreCelery and coriander are vastly applied in modern medicine and traditionally because various medicinal and nutritional benefits depend on their medicinal characteristics. The study aimed to detect, isolate and compare extracts contents of phenolic acids (caffeic and p-coumaric acids) in ethyl acetate fraction of fresh and dry aerial parts of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) and celery (Apium graveolens L.) of the Apiaceae family. The extraction of these constituents was carried out by maceration method using 70% ethanol and fractionation was done by using petroleum ether, and ethyl acetate. The existence of caffeic and p-coumaric acids in aerial part extracts of two plants was identified by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-
... Show MoreIn his masterpiece ’The Prophet’, Kahlil Gibran presents his unwavering faith and passionate belief in the healing power of universal love that brings humans to sublime ideas and elevates their souls and behavior. The current study aims to find out the stylistic devices utilized to represent the concept of love based on the hypothesis that Gibran tends to use certain stylistic effects to convey his meaning. The study adopts Leech and Short’s (2007) framework of stylistic analysis to analyze the lexical items and figures of speech in selected extracts from the book. The findings reveal that Gibran prefers concrete nouns, dynamic verbs, and physical adjectives over abstract nouns, stative verbs, and psychological adjectives to s
... Show MoreIntroduction and Aim: Diabetes mellitus patients almost always struggle with a metabolic condition known as chronic hyperglycemia. According to the World Health Organization, osteoporosis is a progressive systemic skeletal disorder that is characterized by decreasing bone mass and microstructural breakdown of bone tissue that increases susceptibility to fracture and increased risk of breaking a bone. Here, we aimed to compare the levels of CatK and total oxidative state in patients with diabetes and osteoporosis among the female Iraqi population and study the possible relationship between them. Materials and Methods: This study included 40 females with diabetes (Group G1), 40 with diabetes and osteoporosis (Group G2) and 40 normal healthy f
... Show MoreIntroduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a common protozoan disease in Iraq characterized by localized ulcers, primarily on exposed skin. This study aimed to investigate the hematological parameters of infected patients using a complete blood count (CBC) in the endemic area of Diyala Governorate, northeast of Baghdad. This has been studied in newly diagnosed, untreated individuals and patients receiving sodium antimony gluconate. Methodology: Hematological screening was performed on blood samples from 161 patients with microscopically diagnosed cutaneous leishmaniasis before and after treatment. Anti-Leishmania IgG was also assessed by ELISA in seropositive and seronegative subjects. Results: The newly diagnosed, untreated pati
... Show MoreThere is a great risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and vascular thrombosis in patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). These patients exhibit numerous abnormalities in coagulation, fibrinolytic, inhibitory protein abnormalities in multiple levels. The study aimed to assess hypercoagulable changes by measuring the levels of antithrombin, plasma fibrinogen and FXII activity in patients with ESRD, and to find their correlation with Hemoglobin (Hb) level, WBC count, reticulocyte percentage and platelet count. This study was conducted at Al-Hayat center, Al Karama Teaching Hospital on 50 ESRD patients aged < 60 years of both genders. In addition, 20 apparently healthy individuals were included as a control group. The mean Hb level, total
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