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.
Background: Obesity is considered an important risk factor for periodontal disease. It has been reported that reactive oxygen species linking both diseases, systemic melatonin supplementation as antioxidant therapy, was addressed as an adjuvant to scaling and root surface debridement (SRP) to enhance the treatment of periodontitis. Objective: To investigate the efficacy of systemic melatonin administration in periodontitis-obese patients as an adjuvant to scaling and root surface debridement (SRP). Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted at a dental-specialized center. Eighty subjects were included and allocated into group-I: twenty periodontium-healthy, normal-weight people; group-II: 30 obese patients with stage-III tre
... Show Moreatrogenic atrial septal defect (IASD), post Catheter ablation during electrophysiological study simply can be assess with Echocardiography nowadays ablation consider the main line in the managements of patients with various type of arrhythmia. This study aims to de-termine the outcomes of Iatrogenic Atrial Septal Defect (IASD) six months post radiofrequency ablation (RF) procedure of left atrial arrhythmia using non-invasive Transtho-racic Echocardiography (TTE) parameters (LVEF, E/e` and ASD size) with sheath size as predictors of atrial septal defect closure. Patients and methods: A prospective study was con-ducted in Iraqi Centre for Heart Diseases included 47 patients post Electrophysiology procedure and ablation of left atrial SVT were
... Show MoreBackground: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a cytokine that has several functions, including stimulating growth and inhibiting cell death. It has the potential to operate as a biomarker for the accurate prediction of disease severity and activity, platelets-rich plasma was used in the treatment of oral lichen planus and can change the salivary IL-6 level.
Objectives: To study the clinical outcome of intralesional platelets-rich plasma in patients with oral lichen planus and to measure salivary IL-6 levels before and after the treatment with platelets-rich plasma were the aims of this study.
Subjects and Methods: In this clinical trial, for each patient a standardi
... Show MoreThis study aims at evaluating the performance of MA students in the College of Education for Women in using the digital transformation and identifying the significant difference in performance evaluation according to the variable of academic qualification (Master or PHD). In order to achieve the aim of the research the researcher prepared a questionnaire of 20 items, and this happens after the researcher's getting acquaintance of the literature of previous studies related to the variable of the research. The apparent validity of the items was examined by exposing them to 10 juries specialized in education, psychology and evaluation and measurement. The stability of the items was examined via two methods, the test-repetition and half-divisio
... Show MoreAn expression for the transition charge density is investigated where the deformation in nuclear collective modes is taken into consideration besides the shell model transition density. The inelastic longitudinal form factors C2 calculated using this transition charge density with excitation of the levels for Cr54,52,50 nuclei. In this work, the core polarization transition density is evaluated by adopting the shape of Tassie model together with the derived form of the ground state two-body charge density distributions (2BCDD's). It is noticed that the core polarization effects which represent the collective modes are essential in obtaining a remarkable agreement between the calculated inelastic longitudinal F(q)'s and those of experimen
... Show MoreMany studies have evaluated the effect of platelet rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of non-union fractures but few studies have investigated their effect on the union of femoral neck fractures or their functional outcome in young adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the union time and functional outcome in young adult patients with femoral neck fracture managed by three cannulated screws injected with PRP and those managed by fixation only. This prospective study included 24 patients diagnosed with femoral neck fractures within 24 hours of presentation. Twelve cases in group A were managed by closed reduction and three cannulated screws fixation injected with PRP; twelve patients in group B were managed only by closed reduction a
... Show MoreA field experiment was conducted at Abu-Ghrib during 2013- 2014 season to study the effect of harrowing systems on the decomposition and fermentation on organic matter(OM) when added and mixed with the soil under special technology, as well as its effect on the growth parameters and productivity of (Zea mays L. 5018). The experiment was laid out using factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) in split-split design with three replications in SCL bare soil with a percent of moisture ranged from 16 – 18 %. The main plots were designated to the two systems of harrowing (Rotary Harrowand Disc Harrow ). The sub main plots were specified for two organic matters ( Sheep manure ,cow manure ) . Data were statistically analyzed, and
... Show MoreThe main object of this article is to study and introduce a subclass of meromorphic univalent functions with fixed second positive defined by q-differed operator. Coefficient bounds, distortion and Growth theorems, and various are the obtained results.