Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome called coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Due to its concerning rate of transmission and intensity, coronavirus was classified as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. With the continuous evolution of the viral genome and mutations that may alter infectivity, disease severity or interactions with host immunity, SARS-CoV-2 has evolved into many variants: Alpha (B.1.1.7 lineage), Delta (B.1.617.2 lineage), Delta plus (B.1.617.2.1), Omicron (B.1.1.529 lineage) and other variants. Thus, this study aimed to find and provide database for local clinical characteristics of different variants of SARS-COV-2 and severity of infection with viral load compared with the wild type. A total of 247 nasal swabs were collected from COVID-19 positive patients between March 2021 to March 2022. Specimens were tested by using real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction rRT-PCR assay to confirm the infection after RNA extraction by specialized kits. Results showed Alpha, Delta, Delta plus and Omicron variants presence in local population at the same time of their global spread at high rates with different cases of severity. The finding showed increase in severity with Alpha 79/87 (90%), wild type 26/32 (81%) (with 3 mortality cases), Delta/ Delta plus 68/84 (80%) and Kappa only one case. Also, Alpha along with the wild type was more associated to severe and critical cases, while mild to moderate group appeared with Omicron variant (32/43 (74%)). In addition, there was an increase in the severity among older patients (>40) and in men more than the women. Results indicate that although the wild type was no less dangerous or severe than Alpha or other variants, but with continuous appearence of new variants led to its reduced prevalence. In conclusion, findings demonstrated that most of the severe and critical cases had infection with Alpha, wild type than Delta or Delta plus variants. Whereas mild to moderate cases occurred in Omicron variants.
Background: Obesity is an evolving major health problem in both developed and developing countries. Traditional obesity indices as body mass index, waist circumference, waist-hip-ratio are well known measures to identify obese subjects, however, neck circumference as an index of upper-body obesity was found to be a simple and time-saving screening measure that can be used to identify obesity and the likelihood of developing metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetic patients.
Aim: to investigate the relationship of neck circumference (NC) to obesity and metabolic syndrome in Iraqi subjects with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: The study group included 90 type 2 diabetic subjects (48 men and 42 women) aged 30-68 years. The subjects were those w
This study is an attempt to find whether arginine metabolism dysregulation by arginase activity is related to hyperglycemia, followed by changes in nitric oxide (NO) generation in type 2 diabetic patients. This study includes 42 control subjects (Group I), and 92 Iraqi patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The patient group was subdivided into two groups: Group II (54) with T2DM only and Group III (38) with T2DM and dyslipidemia (who were treating with atorvastatin along with diabetes treatment). The samples were obtained to measure arginase activity and NO levels. Serum arginase activity increased significantly in patients(groupII and groupIII) compared to control group. While serum NO level was significantly lower in diabetic pa
... Show MoreBackground: Orexin-A is an orexigenic hormone that plays an important role in the metabolism of blood glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance (IR). The pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is related to the abnormality in insulin and IR. However, no sufficient studies to date have clearly shown the association of orexin-A with biochemical parameters related to T2DM.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the relation of orexin-A with IR and how they associate with physiological changes in T2DM patients. Understanding this relation will offer some pharmacological tools to reduce some complications in diabetes.
Materials and Methods: A total of 41 T2
... Show MoreBreast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in women worldwide and a major cause of cancer-related deaths for women in Iraq. This assignment was created to investigate the characteristics of BC diagnosed in Baghdad from 2018 to 2021. A total of eighty-nine of paraffin embedded tissue blocks of different breast tissue tumors (71 females and 18 males) with their data, were collected from archive of Histopathology Department, Teaching Laboratories of Medical City, Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, and a private laboratory in Baghdad-Iraq. The clinical information regarding age, gender, tumor size, tumor stage and grade, lymph nodes metastasis, in addition to the findings of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human
... Show MoreAdipokines are associated with insulin resistance and obesity-related metabolic
disorders in many diseases. The levels of Lipocalin-2 and Retinol binding protein-4
were evaluated in sera of patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) to study the
association between them and the inflammatory state as established by high levels of
C - reactive protein and with atherogenicity. Serum Lipocalin-2 and Retinol binding
protein-4 levels measured in 73 subjects: 48 patients with T2DM with the mean
level of C- reactive protein 23.989 mg/dL. For comparison, 25 age- and gendermatched
control participants enrolled with C- reactive protein CRP level 1.476
mg/dL. The results showed that circulating Lipocalin-2, and Retinol binding prot
Background: Sialosis described as a specific consequence of diabetes. In diabetic sialosis, the increased volume of the glands is due to the infiltration of adipose in the parenchyma. The B-scan ultrasonography is a generally accepted tool for determining parotid gland enlargement. Oral health is, to a greater extent, dependent on quality and quantity of saliva, both of which may be altered in diabetics. This study was established to detect the enlargement of parotid gland in diabetic patient and study the changes in physical properties of saliva and its relation with the salivary gland enlargement. Subjects, Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study with highly specified criteria with ages ranged (20-65) years, male and female subject
... Show MoreBackground: Hypothyroidism is the most abundant thyroid disorder worldwide. For decades, levothyroxine was the main effective pharmacological treatment for hypothyroidism. A variety of factors can influence levothyroxine dose, such as genetic variations. Studying the impact of genetic polymorphisms on the administration of medications was risen remarkably. Different genetic variations were investigated that might affect levothyroxine dose requirements, especially the deiodinase enzymes. Deiodinase type 2 genetic polymorphisms’ impact on levothyroxine dose was studied in different populations. Objective: To examine the association of the two single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)s of deiodinase type 2 (rs225013 and rs225014) and le
... Show MoreHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the most common human pathogens in the world. Several studies that have investigated the correlation between H. pylori infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) found that H. pylori infection is more frequent in the patients, while the results of other studies were unclear. This paper aims to investigate the interrelation between the infection with H. pylori and type 2 DM in Dohuk governorate, Iraq. Eighty four diabetes patients (41 males, 43 females) and 92 healthy controls were involved in this study. H. pylori status was assessed in serum samples by using ELISA test. Out of the 84 patients,
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