Cytokines are signaling molecules between inflammatory cells that play a significant role in the pathogenesis of a disease. Among these cytokines are interleukins (ILs) 17A and 33, and accordingly, the current case-control study sought to investigate the role of each of the two cytokines in the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixty-eight relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) Iraqi patients and twenty healthy individuals (control group) were enrolled. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to determine serum levels of IL-17A and IL-33. Results revealed that IL-17A and IL-33 levels were significantly higher in MS patients than in controls (14.1 ± 4.5 vs. 7.5 ± 3.8 pg/mL; p < 0.001 and 65.3 ± 16.3 vs. 49.3 ± 20.0 pg/mL; p < 0.001, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that IL-17A was a very good predictor of MS (area under curve [AUC] = 0.869; 95% CI = 0.779 - 0.960; p < 0.001; cut-off value = 10.2 pg/mL; sensitivity = 80.8%; specificity = 75.0%). A similar prediction was presented by IL-33, but the AUC value was lower (AUC = 0.762; 95% CI = 0.63 - 0.89; p < 0.001; cut-off value = 56.4 pg/mL; sensitivity = 70.6%; specificity = 70.0%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis confirmed the significance of IL-17A and IL-33 in MS risk, and under three models of analysis, the estimated odds ratios for IL-17A (1.50, 1.49 and 1.50, respectively) and IL-33 (1.05, 1.05 and 1.06) were above 1.0. Patients stratified by gender (male and female), expanded disability status scale (EDSS: < 3 and ≥ 3) or medication (pre- and post-medication) showed no significant differences in serum levels of IL-17A and IL-33 for each stratum. However, with regard to response to medication, it was found that responding patients showed significantly higher levels of IL-33 than non-responders (70.9 ± 12.2 vs. 57.2 ± 18.2 pg/mL; p = 0.018). This difference was not observed when considering IL-17A. Pearson correlation analysis between IL-17A and IL-33 revealed that both cytokines were not significantly correlated. In conclusion, the study indicated that IL-17A and IL-33 were up-regulated in serum of MS patients, and this up-regulation was not influenced by age, gender, EDSS or medication status, but the elevated level of IL-33 was more pronounced in patients who responded to medication.
Background: Studies show that diabetic patients have a higher incidence of ischemic stroke than non-diabetic patients. In the Framingham study the incidence of thrombotic stroke was 25 times higher in diabetic men and 36 times higher in diabetic women than in those without diabetes
Objectives: aim of this study to analyze topography in diabetic patients.
Type of study: Cross sectional study.
Methods: 48 patients with acute stroke were classified into 4 groups: euglycemic, stress hyperglycemia, newly diagnosed diabetics, and known diabetics.
Results:no significant differences were found in the type, site or size of st
... Show MoreTicks (Acari: Ixodidae) are ectoparasites that infest livestock in every geographic region of the world and are vectors of several viral, bacterial, and protozoan pathogens to both animals and humans. There is little information is available is about tick presence in Buffalo Bubalus bubalis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) in Iraq. The current study determined the species of ticks parasitizing Buffalo in some central and southern regions included: Baghdad (Al Fathelia), Karbala (Al-Hussainia), Wasit (Kut and Al-Suwairah), Al-Qadisia (Al- Diwaniyah, Al- Saniya, Al-Mihnawea, and Afak), Thi Qar (Al-Nasiriyah and Al-chibayish), Missan (Amara and Qalaat Salih) and Basrah (Al-Haretha, Al-Madena and Al-Deer). A total of 150 Buffal
... Show MorePapillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) represents the most prevalent kind of thyroid gland cancer, making up around 80% of all occurrences of thyroid cancer. Evidence shows that Syndecan-1 (SDC-1) expression is lost in a number of benign and malignant epithelial neoplasms, although its expression profile in thyroid gland neoplasms is yet unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess SDC-1 expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma patients, as well as the relationship between age and gender and SDC-1 expression. To undertake a detailed investigation of SDC-1 in normal and malignant tissues, tissue sections were used to examine SDC-1 expression in 70 tissue samples, 50 distinct PTC (6 males and 44 females) and 20 normal tissue ty
... Show MoreCommercial fish catch in the Iraqi marine waters from December 2018 to December 2019 was investigated. The study is based on three stations: the first station is located at the Shatt Al-Arab estuary, the second represents the area between the Shatt Al-Arab Estuary and open marine waters, and the third is associated with the Iraqi territorial marine waters. The total weight of the catch was 1881 kg, represented by 500, 654, and 727 kg in the first, second and third stations respectively. The third station was the highest with a majority of the family Sciaenidae by 464 kg, while the lowest was the family Scombridae by 0.5 kg. The total number of species included 37 species, belonging to 27 genera, 19 families, and 6 orders, the largest ord
... Show MoreThe Internet of Things (IoT) is an expanding domain that can revolutionize different industries. Nevertheless, security is among the multiple challenges that it encounters. A major threat in the IoT environment is spoofing attacks, a type of cyber threat in which malicious actors masquerade as legitimate entities. This research aims to develop an effective technique for detecting spoofing attacks for IoT security by utilizing feature-importance methods. The suggested methodology involves three stages: preprocessing, selection of important features, and classification. The feature importance determines the most significant characteristics that play a role in detecting spoofing attacks. This is achieved via two techniques: decision tr
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The current study was conducted to assess the effect of advancing age on total serum IgE level in asthmatic patients. To this purpose, 90 asthmatic patients and 30 healthy individuals ( control group ) were enrolled. Asthmatic patients were categorized into four groups. Group A consisted of asthmatic patients (9) whose age was more than 20 and up to 30 y. Group B contained asthmatics (13) of age more than 30 and up to 40 y. Group C comprised those (23) of more than 40 and up to 50 y. Group D consisted asthmatic patients (45) of age more than 50 y. Total serum IgE level significantly changed in group D patients when compared with those of
This study has evaluated the humoral immune response in Golden Hamsters experimentally infected with Leishmania donovani along (4) times of follow up (15, 30, 60, 90) days after infection. Indirect haemagglutination test was used to determine the antibody titer through the various stages of the study. Also the progress of the infection was studied depending on some of the visceral changes caused by the parasite, like weight of liver, length & weight of spleen & the count of Leishmania parasites in spleen were measured. Results has shown that there was an increase in antibody titer & the maximum value was recorded at the 4th day of follow up (90 days after infection) as well as that there was an increase in the length of the spleen, weight
... Show MoreNumerous regions in the city of Baghdad experience the congestion and traffic problems. Due to the religious and economic significance, Al-Kadhimiya city (inside the metropolitan range of Baghdad) was chosen as study area. The data gathering stage was separated into two branches: the questionnaire method which is utilized to estimate the traffic volumes for the chosen roads and field data collection method which included video recording and manual counting for the volumes entering the selected signal intersections. The stage of analysis and evaluation for the seventeen urban roads, one highway, and three intersections was performed by HCS-2000 software.The presented work plots a system for assessing the level of service
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