Background: In December 2019, an episode of COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) was reported in Wuhan, China and has spread around the world, increasing the number of contagions. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are common herpesviruses that can cause persistent latent infections and affect the developing immune system.The study was conducted to explore the prevalence and reactivation of CMV and EBV antibodies in COVID-19 patients group in comparison to healthy group and to investigate the association between the presence of these viruses with each of severity of disease and oral hygiene. Materials and Methods: Eighty Five subjects were participated in this case control study (50 patients with COVID-19 and 35 healthy controls), their age range from 18 to 77 years. Oral health status was established by oral hygiene index. Serum obtained from patients and controls was analyzed using ELISA to assess levels of anti- CMV and anti- EBV antibodies. Results: The study revealed that the mean of anti-EBV IgG in patients was significantly elevated (p<0.01) than that in controls. Otherwise, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in levels of anti- EBV IgM, anti- CMV IgG and IgM between two groups (P>0.05). In addition there were no significant differences between patients and controls (p>0.05) in the number and percentage of anti-EBV and anti-CMV antibodies. Interestingly, there was a significant increase in the level of anti-CMV IgM in severe cases as compared to mild cases, (P<0.01). Furthermore, these results revealed that there were no significant differences (P>0.05) in levels of anti-viral antibodies in patients with good oral hygiene compared to patients with poor oral hygiene. Conclusions: Higher frequency of anti-EBV IgG among patients indicates that latent infection is more common in COVID-19 patients. While an increased percentage of anti-CMV IgM indicated reactivation of latent infection and is related to disease severity suggesting that COVID-19 can cause cellular immune impairment.
There is a great risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and vascular thrombosis in patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). These patients exhibit numerous abnormalities in coagulation, fibrinolytic, inhibitory protein abnormalities in multiple levels. The study aimed to assess hypercoagulable changes by measuring the levels of antithrombin, plasma fibrinogen and FXII activity in patients with ESRD, and to find their correlation with Hemoglobin (Hb) level, WBC count, reticulocyte percentage and platelet count. This study was conducted at Al-Hayat center, Al Karama Teaching Hospital on 50 ESRD patients aged < 60 years of both genders. In addition, 20 apparently healthy individuals were included as a control group. The mean Hb level, total
... Show MoreThe oncolytic viruses are promising form of cancer therapy which is based on the selectively killing of the cancer cells. This study was aimed to investigate the role of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) Iraqi strain AD2141 in apoptosis. Firstly, the virulence of AD2141 was detected in embryonated chicken eggs after 48hrs of infection. It was observed a hemorrhage in the skin of infected embryos that led to death. Then, the ability of this strain for regression cancer cell lines was examined. By using cytotoxicity test, it was found 128 HAU/ml of AD2141 had a potent inhibition against growth of RD and AMN3 after 72hrs of exposure time; the inhibition rate was 86.8% and 86.98% respectively. Moreover, the apoptotic activity of AD2141 was exami
... Show MoreHypertension is a major health problem throughout the world because of its high prevalence and its association with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. It is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy, safety and cardiovascular disease risk lowering ability, of three antihypertensive drug regimens.
A retrospective study was carried out on 66 hypertensive patients, divided in to three groups based on their antihypertensive drug regimens (ACE inhibitors, β-blockers treated and combination antihypertensive therapy, the combination therapy consist of two or more of the following antihypertensive drugs ACE inhibitor di
... Show MoreA retrospective study is conducted to identify factors that improve prospective animal studies; contribute to the optimization of animal protection from all unnecessary and preventable damage. Preclinical oral histology research from 2010-2020 is evaluated and 64 studies were reviewed relating to two interventions: bone trauma and surgical incision. The harm-benefit analysis is featured in this study through the application of the recent form of Bateson's Cube. Depending on its three axes, we can assess animal suffering, the likelihood of benefit, and the importance of research. The total number of animals used in the research is 2685. Rats, 51.6%, and rabbits, 48.4%, are the most commonly used animals. Research related to bone healing acco
... Show MoreAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related progressive and neurodegenerative disorder, which is characterized by loss of memory and cognitive decline. It is the main cause of disability among older people. The rapid increase in the number of people living with AD and other forms of dementia due to the aging population represents a major challenge to health and social care systems worldwide. Degeneration of brain cells due to AD starts many years before the clinical manifestations become clear. Early diagnosis of AD will contribute to the development of effective treatments that could slow, stop, or prevent significant cognitive decline. Consequently, early diagnosis of AD may also be valuable in detecting patients with dementia who have n
... Show More
Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory condition that primarily affects the skin, hair, and joints and is associated with significant humanistic and economic consequences. Psoriasis was induced in mice in this work using an imiquimod 5% cream, an immune response modifier that can cause psoriasis-like skin inflammation when given orally. Paquinimod is prepared as a suspension and has been orally given to mice before imiquimod application. The current study found that paquinimod suspension reduced psoriasis area and severity index, spleen index, skin thickness ,TNF-α,IL-23,IL17 level and gene expression of TN
... Show MoreBackground: Hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated, it's classified as either primary (essential) hypertension or secondary hypertension, and it increases the risk of ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and other cardiovascular diseases. Several classes of medications collectively referred to as antihypertensive drugs like beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, renin inhibitors and statins (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor. Statin medication may have some beneficial effects when subjects have dental plaque or signs of periodontitis as gingival bleeding. The purpose of this study were to as
... Show MoreA harvested prey-predator model with infectious disease in preyis investigated. It is assumed that the predator feeds on the infected prey only according to Holling type-II functional response. The existence, uniqueness and boundedness of the solution of the model are investigated. The local stability analysis of the harvested prey-predator model is carried out. The necessary and sufficient conditions for the persistence of the model are also obtained. Finally, the global dynamics of this model is investigated analytically as well as numerically. It is observed that, the model have different types of dynamical behaviors including chaos.
Multiplesclerosis(MS)isachronic,inflammatory,immune-mediateddiseaseof the central nervous system (CNS). More than 2 million people worldwidehave MS. The goal of the present study was to compare Iraqi patients' treat-ment satisfaction with three different disease-modifying therapies (DMTs),administeredorally,subcutaneously,andbyslowinfusion;namely,fin-golimod, interferon beta-1b (IFNβ-1b), and natalizumab, respectively. Aswell as to assess the individual differences among these therapies about theireffectiveness, convenience and global satisfaction also to assess the role ofcertain predictors on treatment satisfaction. Patient satisfaction with medi-cation assessed by the Treatment Satisfaction Questi
... Show More