Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive airflow limitation that is preventable but not curable. It is associated with persistent symptoms that cause a considerable burden on individual productivity at work, and daily activities, and reduced quality of life, also burdening the healthcare system and society. Objectives: The study aims to measure the burden of COPD on patients in terms of daily activities and work productivity. It also seeks to investigate some inflammatory biomarkers' levels and their correlation with selected outcomes. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 120 stable COPD patients who were diagnosed and treated according to the GOLD guidelines at Kirkuk General Hospital's chest and Internal Medicine consultation clinics, and in private internist clinics in Kirkuk City, Iraq between January and April 2023. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI-COPD) measured the Burden of COPD. The symptom burden was assessed by the COPD assessment test (CAT). The level of IL-6 monoclonal antibodies was measured via a Roche Cobas 6000 analyzer and TNF-α using the ELISA sandwich technique. All these devices and machines were authorized by the Ministry of Health, Iraq. Results: The mean age was (54.1 ± 8.12) years, 62.5% being males and 37.5% being females; 41.7% were public sector employees, and 39.2% were self-employed. Due to COPD, the overall work loss was (45.9±18.91) days, the mean percentage of absenteeism was (10.9% ± 12.31%), activity impairment was (47.5% ±17.79%) among all patients, presenteeism was (40.8 ± 15.05%,) and COPD-related retirees were 14.2% of the study group. The mean CAT score (19.3±5.63) was high and the most troubling symptom among patients was chest tightness. WPAI-COPD scores were higher in older age and longer disease duration. The levels of biomarkers were above the reference ranges, the mean IL-6 level was (69.4 ± 35.29) pg/ml, and the mean TNF-α was (72.3 ± 22.45) pg/ ml. Conclusions: COPD patients exhibit a disease burden in terms of productivity loss at work and activity impairment that increases with aging and disease duration. COPD patients with low BMI are more prone to a decline in lung functions and to worse symptoms.
Biomarkers to detect Alzheimer’s disease (AD) would enable patients to gain access to appropriate services and may facilitate the development of new therapies. Given the large numbers of people affected by AD, there is a need for a low-cost, easy to use method to detect AD patients. Potentially, the electroencephalogram (EEG) can play a valuable role in this, but at present no single EEG biomarker is robust enough for use in practice. This study aims to provide a methodological framework for the development of robust EEG biomarkers to detect AD with a clinically acceptable performance by exploiting the combined strengths of key biomarkers. A large number of existing and novel EEG biomarkers associated with slowing of EEG, reductio
... Show MoreBackground: 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
... Show More60 patients diagnosed as having urticaria were included in the study ; 30 patients were effected with acute urticaria and 30 patients were affected with chronic urticaria. In addition, 30 healthy adult volunteers were selected as control group .The patients and control groups sera were examined with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA) to detect total level IgE and radial immunodiffusion (RID) to detect levels of IgG , IgA and IgM . The total level of IgE in acute urticaria ( 1.45±0.13) IU/mL and chronic urticaria (2.12 ± 0.10) IU/mL patients were significantly higher than the control groups ( 0.85 ± 0.10)IU/mL (p<0.05). The level of IgG in acute urticaria ( 12.5± 0.42) g/L and chronic (13.16±0.40) g/L patients , IgA in acute (2.
... Show MoreThe expression of the Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 gene (PCSK9) is inextricably related to lipid levels and a risk of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (ASCAD). The present study aims to measure the quantity of PCSK9 gene expression and the effect of methylation on its expression level taking part in the pathogenesis of acute coronary artery disorder.
A current study included 150 subjects from the Iraqi population, 100 ASCAD patients and 50 healthy controls. The concentration of PCSK9 in each serum sample was determined by the ELISA technique, the expression levels of the PCSK9 gene in whole blood were estimated by RT-qPCR – Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR method, and DNA
... Show MoreBackground: In advanced diabetes mellitus, serum levels of the most hormones are altered due to several interplaying mechanisms. Objective: To assess the relation of serum leptin and lipid profile in type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Patients and Method: Serum leptin levels and its relation to lipid profile were estimated in 62 patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy attending the National Diabetes Center in Al- Mustansiriya University, and (26) healthy individuals considered as control group. The diabetic patients were classified into three groups, (24) pathients with normoalbuminuria (21) patients with microalbuminuria and (17) patients with macroalbuminuria. Fasting plasma glucose, serum creatinine, Hb A1c %, lipid profile (Total c
... Show MoreGastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a prevalent clinical condition, that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Objective: To assess the level of soluble HLA-E (sHLA-E) as a biomarker in the diagnosis and immunopathogenesis of GERD patients. Methods: The case-control prospective study included 40 GERD patients who were consulted at the Gastroenterology Unit of AlKindy Teaching Hospital, as along with 40 healthy control subjects. The study period extended from January 2023 to May 2024. Blood was drawn from both groups and serum was separated to assesssHLA-E using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in sHLA-E levels between GERD patients and healthy cont
... Show MoreAbstract Background: Timely diagnosis of periodontal disease is crucial for restoring healthy periodontal tissue and improving patients’ prognosis. There is a growing interest in using salivary biomarkers as a noninvasive screening tool for periodontal disease. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of two salivary biomarkers, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and total protein, for periodontal disease by assessing their sensitivity in relation to clinical periodontal parameters. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the impact of systemic disease, age, and sex on the accuracy of these biomarkers in the diagnosis of periodontal health. Materials and methods: A total of 145 participants were categorized into three groups based
... Show MoreChronic Hepatitis B(CHB) is a serious sequel after Hepatitis B Virus infection, although the rate of chronicity is inverse with age but it may be associated with a significant proportion of deaths related to cirrhosis and liver cancer. HBV serology and measurement of hepatocytic enzymes with viral load can predict disease prognosis and response to treatment. HBeAg refers to a high viral replication and associated with more infectivity to others. This study aimed to determine the impact of HBeAg status in chronically infected patients on various baseline tests. A total of 90 patients with CHB infection who were included in this study. Several standardized measures used for liver function tests, viral load and hepatitis B serological
... Show MoreGlorify and Praise be to God, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of God, his family, companions, and those who are loyal to him.
The subject derives its significance from two important sources , the first one lies in the Sunnah of the Prophet, while the other is the family source , which enrich this subject with great importance.
As for the objective of the topic, it shows to the reader the prophetic bases that mitigate and ease the burden of the husband in a way that secures the marital happiness, so that the Muslim woman takes it as a path for her in life and a slogan that illuminates the darkness of the path and makes her to overcom
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