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 aim of this study is the determination of the anti-adhesion activity of active compounds extracted from plants in the inhibition of adhesion ability of C. albicans that is used as a virulence factor for infection. Adherence to host surfaces is a primary factor in the colonization of human tissues by fungi, which can also adhere to the surfaces of medical devices and form biofilms. Medicinal plants possess therapeutic properties or beneficial pharmacological effects on the body. A total of one hundred samples were collected from female patients with vaginal infection in two hospitals in Baghdad city for three months. The fungi were isolated and identified by microscopic morphology, morphological features on culture media, and
... Show MorePetrographic, heavy mineral and clay mineral analyses are carried out for the sandstone and the mudstone units of Injana and Mukdadiya Formations in Zorbatiya area, Wasit Governorate, East of Iraq. The sandstones and the mudstones are nested as repeated fining–upwards successions, representing fluvial deposits. The sandstones of the Mukdadiya Formation is gravelly and on occasions becomes conglomerate. The sandstone of both formations comprises rock fragments, quartz and feldspars. The rock fragments are the dominant component consisting sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rock fragments, accordingly these sandstone are classified as litharenite. The clay minerals of the mudstone u
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Background: Multiple Sclerosis disease is a demyelination process which interferes with the neuronal signal transmission, thus leading to different cognitive and physical dysfunctions like optic neuritis, motor, sensory and coordination problems. Recently many researches have been directed toward studying the relation between some genes and multiple sclerosis. Among the important genes to be studied in multiple sclerosis is the forkhead box P3 gene expression.
Objectives: The aims of the present work were to study the expression of forkhead box P3 gene by real time polymerase chain reaction, and to perform chromosomal analysis on the multiple sclerosis patients peripheral blood lymphocytes.
Patients and methods: A case-control stud
Background: Faith healing is common in Arab culture. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is linked to religious beliefs and this can affect its management as patients may seek help from faith healers rather than mental health professionals.
Patients and methods: Patients who received a diagnosis of OCD according to DSM-IV-TR completed a questionnaire containing questions about age, gender, marital state, residence, income, level of education, and occupation. Also, data was collected on help-seeking from a faith healer and on religiosity. The data was analyzed by using the statistical package of the social sciences (SPSS).
Results: 58.5% of OCD patients had sought help from faith healers and this was significantly
Amoebas live freely in different climates and parts of the world. Several species of Free Living Amoeba (FLA) are capable of causing serious as well as fatal infections in human beings. The aim of this study was to identify and compare genotypes of water-polluting FLA in major rivers and lakes of Iraq and compare them with FLA isolates from Iran and Turkey. For this purpose, the study included 20 water samples from the Tigris River, Euphrates River , Najaf Sea and Dukan lake in Iraq, 20 water samples from Marivan, Velasht, and Soleimanshah lakes and Caspian sea in Iran, and 20 water samples from Sabanca, Seyfi , Hazar and Yay lakes in Turkey. The samples were studied by culture methods, invert microscope, and molecular methods.
... Show MoreIn this study, the bacteria from sputum specimens of patients with respiratory tract infections were isolated in IbnSina Teaching Hospital, Mosul city, Iraq. The bacteria were subjected to phenotypic and biochemical tests necessary for identification. Twenty five isolates of six different bacterial species were obtained, they are : Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia, Moraxella cattarhalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pnuemoniae and Pseudomona saeruginosa with ratios (64%, 12%, 8%, 8%, 4% and 4% ) respectively. The sensitivity and resistance of these isolates to 12 antibiotic were studied, where the Gentamycin appear to be more effective on most of the isolates while all the isolates showe
... Show MoreSeventy of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates had been collected from some Hospitals in Baghdad city from October to December 2017. The 70 isolates were taken from diverse clinical specimens. All K. pneumoniae isolates were identified based on API 20 E and Vitek2 compact system. Antibiotics sensitivity test was carried out toward 10 antibiotics using discs diffusion method. The level of antibiotics resistance was 81.42% for Ceftriaxone, whereas the low level of antibiotics resistance was 37.14% for Piperacillin. K. pneumoniae isolates were typed genotypically by using two different methods of amplification, multiplex-PCR and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR typing methods. Results showed that out of 70 isolates, there
... Show MoreThe ground pearls, Porphyrophora tritici (Bod.) is a new insect pest on wheat recorded for
the first time from Mousl Province, North of Iraq.