All major organs may be impacted by the connective disease systemic lupus erythematosus, a separate risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). Adhesion molecules like intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) and vascular cell adhesion molecules (VCAM) can detect endothelial damage and dysfunction, which appear to play a crucial role. This study investigated whether people with SLE had elevated subclinical and clinical atherosclerosis risk factors. Traditional CAD risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia cannot entirely explain this elevation. It is thought that immunological dysfunction also increases CAD risk in SLE patients. The study aimed to assess early endothelial changes in SLE Iraqi female patients without previous coronary artery lesions by exploring a potential relationship between circulating VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 as risk factors for atherosclerosis and the relationship of CAD with SLE disease and its severity; further, the study explained the effect of the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on the lipid profile levels of the patients. 92 female SLE patients were divided into mild, moderate, and severe, according to the SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2k), compared with 30 apparently healthy control individuals. All of them need a history of CAD. Serum VCAM-1, ICAM-1 level, VCAM-1/ICAM1 ratio, TC, HDL, LDL levels TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were measured. sVCAM-1, sICAM-1 levels and VCAM-1/ICAM-1 ratio were significantly and gradually increased in patient groups compared with control. Serum TC, HDL and LDL levels were significantly reduced in the SLE patients compared to the control. At the same time, the TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were significantly elevated with the severity of the SLE disease. sVCAM-1, sICAM-1 level and VCAM1/ICAM-1 ratio together with serum TC/HDL and LDL/HDL may improve coronary artery disease risk categorization in SLE patients without acute coronary syndromes. Furthermore, they were more sensitive in severe SLE instances than in moderate and mild ones, suggesting that they may be related to the extent of coronary lesions in SLE patients. VCAM-1 had a higher sensitivity than ICAM-1 in detecting and severity screening for CAD in SLE patients. Keywords: VCAM-1, ICAM-1, SLE, Atherosclerosis
The study included the determination of pollen grains features for 8 genera and 13 taxa of Mimosoideae subfamily grown in Baghdad/ Iraq by using each of light and scanning electron microscope. The samples of taxa were collected from various sites in Baghdad province in central Iraq located on 32 45° 0-33 45 0 N and 44 0 0- 44° 45 0 E. the results from this study revealed different pollen types as monad in each of Leucaena, Prosopis, and Neltuma, tetrad in Mimosa and polyads in Acacia, Albizia, Calliandra, Pithecellobium and Vachellia. Each taxa of these genera characterized by special palynological features as shape, size, number of polyads grain and conplateuration as well as other parameters included other dimensions, and these
... Show MoreThe family Pholcidae represented by the species Artema doriae )Thorell, 1881) is recorded in Iraq for the first time.So far, 23 families of spiders have been recorded in Iraq.
In this paper, we add a new family and a description of a species belonging to this family in the checklist of Iraqi spider fauna.
Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory dermatological condition, exhibits heterogeneous responses to anti-TNF therapies such as etanercept (ETN), underscoring the need for predictive biomarkers. This study investigated the association of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) gene promoter polymorphisms (rs1143623 C/G, rs752338864 C/G, and rs1143627 C/T) with ETN efficacy in 80 Iraqi patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Patients were categorized according to treatment response: responders achieved ≥ 75% reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), whereas non-responders demonstrated ≤ 50% reduction. Post-treatment serum IL-1β levels were significantly higher in non-responders (50.35 ± 15.81 pg/mL) compared to respo
... Show More: The terrestrial snail Eobania vermiculata (O. F. Müller, 1774) were collected from three station in Baghdad Al- Karkh, Iraq between the period from June 2016 to July 2017. Then we studied the life cycle from the egg to maturity. We studied and photographed the external morphology of it’s shell to identified the species. This species was recorded for the first time in Baghdad.
Abstract Background: The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2) proto-oncogene is overexpressed or amplified in approximately 15%-25% of invasive breast cancers. Approximately 35% of HER2-amplified breast cancers have coamplification of the topoisomerase II-alpha (TOP2A) gene encoding an enzyme that is a major target of anthracyclines. Hence, the determination of genetic alteration (amplification or deletion) of both genes is considered as an important predictive factor that determines the response of breast cancer patients to treatment. The aims of this study are to determinate TOP2A status gene amplification in a set of Iraqi patients with breast cancer that have had an equivocal (2+) and positive HER2/neu by immunohistochemistry
... Show MoreBack ground: Diabetic nephropathy is rapidly becoming the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The onset and course of DN can be ameliorated to a very significant degree if intervention institutes at a point very early in the course of the development of this complication.
Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize risk factors associated with nephropathy in type I diabetes and construct a module for early prediction of diabetic nephropathy (DN) by analyzing their risk factors.
Methods: Case control design of 400 patients with type I diabetes mellitus (IDDM), aged 19-45 years. The cases were 200 diabetic patients with overt protein urea while the controls were 200 diabetic patients with no protein urea or micr