Evaluating treatment effect on interferon-alpha in female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a case-control study

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a disease caused by Leishmania tropica parasite. Current treatments for this parasite are undesirable because of their toxicity, resistance, and high cost. Macrophages are key players against pathogens. Nitric oxide (NO), a molecule produce by immune cells, controls intracellular killing of pathogens during infection. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against various types of infectious diseases. It has the ability to stimulate oxygen species production.  This study aims to analyze the macrophages activation through NO production and estimate the cytotoxicity based on the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release upon exposure to L. tropica and

Leishmaniasis is a group of parasitic diseases caused by Leishmania spp., an endemic infectious agent in developing countries, including Iraq. Diagnosis of cutaneous lesion by stained smears, serology or histopathology are inaccurate and unable to detect the species of Leishmania. Here, two molecular typing methods were examined to identify the promastigotes of suspected cutaneous leishmaniasis samples, on a species level. The first was species-specific B6-PCR and the second was ITS1-PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) using restriction enzyme HaeIII. DNA was extracted from in vitro promastigote culture followed by amplification of kDNA by B6 or amplification and digestion of LITSR/L

Background: The systemic host modulation therapy is new approach in treatment of periodontal diseases. Materials and methods:The target of this treatment is the host response to microbial infection because at present time,it is well known that most of damage found in periodontal diseases cause by the inflammatory -immune response to periodontal infections.Sub-antimicrobial-dose Doxycycline (SDD) is a 20-mg dose of Doxycycline (Periostat) that is approved and indicated as an adjunct to scaling and root planning (SRP) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. Results:At present, SDD (Periostat) is the only systemically administered agent that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and accepted by the American Dental Asso

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein that its plasma levels increase after trauma or surgery so it is used as an indicator for the level of inflammation after surgery. The objective of this study is to investigate pre- and post-operative levels of CRP in three types of oral surgical interventions (Apicoectomy, Impaction, and Impacted teeth exposure). Materials and Methods: A total number of (48) healthy individuals aged (20-60) years who needed oral surgical intervention for either (removal of impacted third molars, exposure of an impacted canine, or Apicoectomy). A 4ml venous blood was obtained from each patient at two occasions (pre-operatively at the day of operation and post-operatively after 48 hours), then ce

This study is one of the descriptive studies, where the researcher used the survey method, which seeks to provide an accurate and appropriate description of the main and sub-categories of the content of the research for television documentaries on the Iraqi satellite channel, relying on the research questions and objectives to analyze the content of the documentaries according to the approach referred to above. The objectives of the research were summarized to identify the function of the documentary programs in Al-Iraqiya channel to detect the crimes of the former regime, to know the frameworks highlighted by the documentary programs in Al-Iraqiya channel to reveal the crimes of the former regime, to identify the extent of the circ

Liposomal amphotericin B (Amph B) has been used effectively to treat leishmaniosis, in spite of its high toxicity appeared in some patients. In our study, Amph B was administered in Leishmania donovani that infected BALB/c male mice using different concentrations to evaluate its efficacy challenge against infection as well as its effect in modulating immunity of the host. We observed that low doses with short duration of Amph B as a therapy regime significantly enhanced the induction of Th1 cytokine (INF-γ), but suppressed Th2 cytokine (IL-10) production. Groups of mice infected with L. donovani and treated with Amph B showed clearly increasing in INF-γ level and reduction in IL-10 level in concentration (3, 4, 5 mg/ml/kg) with best resul

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, autoimmune disease, with a wide range of clinical symptoms. Some studies have indicated the association between RANKL, Sclerostin, PD-1, and vitamin D concentrations and the pathogenesis of SLE. The current study aimed to evaluate the role of RANKL, Sclerostin, PD-1 and vitamin D in the pathogenesis of SLE. The study included 180 females diagnosed SLE patients and healthy control (60 females as early diagnosed patients without treatment, 60 females as patients under treatment with (prednisolone, and hydroxychloroquine), and 60 females healthy as a control group, with ages ranging from 20 to 45 years. The serum concentration levels of RANKL, Sclerostin, PD-1 and vitamin D were assessed by E

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most frequently observed malignancy in females worldwide. Today, tamoxifen (TAM) is considered as the highly effective therapy for treatment of breast tumors. Oxidative stress has implicated strongly in the pathophysiology of malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the levels of oxidants and antioxidants in patients with newly diagnosed and TAM-treated BC. Sixty newly diagnosed and 60 TAM-treated women with BC and 50 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Parameters including total oxidant capacity (TOC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase (CAT) activity were determined before and after treatment with TAM. The serum levels of TOC and oxidative stress index (OSI) were

Leishmaniasis is a transmissible infection brought about by an obligatory intracellular protozoan from the genus Leishmania.  It occurs worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions and can be burdensome in resource-constrained countries. The infection ranges in severity from mild cutaneous lesions to more severe and sometimes life-threatening visceral and distorting mucocutaneous sicknesses. Importantly, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is prevalent in the Middle East with a pooled prevalence of 12%. It imposes a significant health and socioeconomic burden