The Growth Differentiation Factor -15 (GDF-15) is a member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily. İt represents an example of the stress response cytokines. It's mostly found in cardiac myocytes, adipocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, and vascular endothelial cells, whether they're generated normally or not. GDF-15 levels have increased and are associated with cardiovascular risk. Aim of the study: To investigate the correlation between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) with the level of plasma GDF-15 in a group of hypertensive patients. Materials and methods: A case-control study involved 90 individuals, 60 hypertensive patients (36 on ACE inhibitors and 24 on ARBs)

Psoriasis is a long-lasting autoimmune disease that is characterized by swollen skin patches. Normally, these skin patches are dark, swollen, itchy and scaly. The single application of the innate TLR7/8 ligand Imiquimod (IMQ) in mice easily induces a dermatitis that closely resembles human psoriasis, critically dependent on the axis of IL-23/IL-17. Artemisia dracunculus prepared as an ointment and has been used topically to mice before imiquimod application. The results of the current study showed that A. dracunculus ointment can significantly reduce psoriasis area and severity index in (A. dracunculus ointment + imiquimod group as compared with both control group and (vehicle ointment + imiquimod) group.

The present study aimed to determine the serum sex hormone levels among Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) patients before and after 3 months of oral administration of 5-α reductase inhibitor(finasteride). Forty BPH patients and 40 healthy men from Amara city were involved in this study, their ages were between 40-59 year. They were all subjected  to direct estimation of hormones by MinVidas method including Testosterone (T), Estradiol (E2), Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Prolactin (PRL), and Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) before and after 3 months of treatment with 5α-reductase inhibitor (finasteride) (the healthy individuals didn’t take finasteride).The results showed that T level was significantly lo

It has been revealed previously that chronic liver disease (CLD) may be associated to hormonal fluctuations. The current study, therefore, aimed to evaluate some hormones in CLD patients compared with non-CLD individuals. This case control study was conducted at Gastroenterology and Hepatology Teaching Hospital, Medical city, Baghdad, Iraq during December 2021 to May 2022. One hundred and twenty male patients with CLD (age:14-75 years) and 120 control males (age: 24-70 years) were involved in this study. Serum samples were taken from all individuals and were then analysed for many tests which included hormones (Cortisol, testosterone, prolactin, insulin  and thyroid stimulating hormone TSH); biochemical analysis (Prothrombin time

Type 2 daibetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global concern boosted by both population growth and ageing, the majority of affected people are aged between (40- 59 year). The objective of this research was to estimate the impact of age and gender on glycaemic control parameters: Fasting blood glucose (FBC), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), insulin, insulin resistance (IR) and insulin sensitivity (IS), renal function parameters: urea, creatinine and oxidative stress parameters: total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Eighty-one random samples of T2DM patients (35 men and 46 women) were included in this study, their average age was 52.75±9.63 year. Current study found that FBG, HbA1C and IR were highly significant (P<0.01) inc

         Sera samples were collected from 60 children aged 4-60 months, all were clinically and serologically proven cases of visceral leishmaniasis, as well as  from 10 healthy children, all were seronegative with no history of parasitic infection who serve as a control during the study. Serum total protein and albumin were measured and compared between the control and visceral leishmaniasis patients. Serum protein profiles have been investigated using the conventional sodium dodecyl sulphate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).  Serum of control group showed the specific protein pattern with five protein bands, while serum protein profile in visceral leishmaniasis pat

The utilization of targeted therapy for programmed death ligand 1 (PD‑L1) has emerged as a prominent focus in contemporary clinical trials, particularly in the context of immune checkpoint inhibitors. The prognostic significance of the expression of PD‑L1 in invasive mammary cancer remains a subject of discussion in clinical oncology, requiring further exploration, despite its recognition as a biomarker for responsiveness to anti‑PDL1 immunotherapy. The present study was conducted to investigate the immunohistological expression of PD‑L1 in women with triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC), with a particular focus for searching for the associated clinical and pathological characteristics. The present retrospective study examined the

    The present study was carried out on forty eight epididymis of sexually mature dogs to elucidate light microscope features and the presence of testosterone receptors inside epididymis in different seasons. Twenty four dogs aged 3 years were used during the periods from 1/2/2015-1/2/2016. The epididymis were carefully dissected from the testis after orchidectomy operations and fixed, dehydrated, clarified and embedded in paraffin. Sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and periodic acid schiff. As well as, paraffin embedded cytoimmunochemistry technique was used for detection of testosterone receptors. Muscular coats showed no significant differences during different seasons or among segments. Epithelial heigh