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.
Bilastine (BL) is a novel non-sedating second-generation antihistamine, and its bioavailability is about 60%. Objective: To compare the bioavailability of prepared oral self-nanoemulsions of BL (BL-SNE) with that of pure BL and marketed tablets. Methods: Four groups of Wistar rats were used in this study, each with six rats weighing between 200 and 250 g. They were treated orally using a a gavage tube. The groups were fed either with conventional tablets ("Alerbix®") after being ground and dispersed with deionized water (DIW), treated with BL-SNE or fed with pure BL powder suspension. The fourth group did not receive any medication. The concentration of BL in the rat’s plasma was measured using HPLC. We used Trandolapril as an an interna
... Show MoreObjective Thalassemic patients present with multiple immune abnormalities that may predispose them to oral Candida, however this has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to assess oral candidal colonization in a group of patients with β-thalassemia major both qualitatively and quantitatively. Study design The oral mycologic flora of 50 β-thalassemia major patients and 50 age- and sex-matched control subjects was assessed using the concentrated oral rinse technique. Candida species were identified using the germ tube test and the Vitek yeast identification system. Results Oral Candida was isolated from 37 patients (74%) and 28 healthy subjects (56%; P = .04). The mean candidal count was significantly higher in thalassemic patie
... Show MoreBackground:Parkinson’disease(PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by resting tremor, bradykinesia, cogwheel rigidity, and impairment of postural reflexes; the frequency of PD increases with aging.Clinically Parkinson's disease characterized by two groups of symptoms: motor and non-motor symptoms.Non-motor symptoms can be categorized as autonomic, cognitive/psychiatric (may include depression, dementia, anxiety, hallucinations), sensory and rapid eye movements (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD).
Objectives:The objectives of this study are to find out the frequency of the non-motor symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson disease in a group of patients in Baghd
... Show MoreAdherence to cardiac medications makes a significant contribution to avoidance of morbidity and premature mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. This quantitative study used cross‐sectional survey design to evaluate medication adherence and contributing factors among patients with cardiovascular disease, comparing patients who were admitted to a cardiac ward (
Background: Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is one of the largest causes of mortality worldwide. Clopidogrel, antiplatelet drug, has been widely used for management of CAD. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of clopidogrel on the oxidative stress in CAD patients. Methods: One hundred CAD patients, who were followed-up for 5 days after receiving clopidogrel, and 50 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Parameters include catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant capacity (TOC), total protein, albumin, and globulins were determined before and after treatment with clopidogrel. Results: CAT, TAC, and Tp were significantly decreased (P<0.0001) in CAD patients compared to healthy control and
... Show MoreThis study investigated the feasibility of anaerobic co-digestion of giant reed (GR) inoculated with waste manure as a co-substrate for biogas production. The performance of co-digestion was evaluated in 4 anaerobic digesters operated in batch mode at different conditions. The effects of alkali pretreatment with NaOH (4% w/v) solution, inoculum type, and thermal condition were studied. The results demonstrated that the alkali-pretreatment of GR enhanced the biogas generation by about 15% at mesophilic conditions. Thermophilic conditions enhanced the biogas recovery from both alkali-free and alkali pretreated GR by 15% and 127%, respectively. The kinetic study of the co-digestion process of GR for biogas recovery suggeste
... Show MoreBackground In rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system attacks the tissue lining the joints on both sides of your body. Other parts of the body may also be affected. Unsure of the exact cause. Two separate genes termed IL12A (p35) and IL12 encode the heterodimeric cytokine known as IL12 (p40). Several different hematopoietic cell types can have several different hematopoietic cell types that can generate antigen-presenting cells (APCs), including DCs and macrophages. Objectives This study aimed to investigate if the interleukin IL-12B gene's common polymorphisms in an Iraqi population were associated with RA. Material and methods Blood samples were taken from 70 Iraqi patients with RA illnesses and 30 Iraqi controls during the periods from
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of tissues supporting the teeth. Salivary compositions have been most intensely studied as a potential marker for periodontal disease. In this study, analysis of saliva provides a simple and non-invasive method of evaluating the role of salivary IgA (s-IgA) levels in periodontal disease by detecting the level of (s-IgA) in patients with chronic periodontitis smokers and non smokers patients and correlate the mean (s-IgA) levels with clinical periodontal parameters Plaque index (PLI) gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL). Materials and Methods: The study samples consists of (15) patients with chronic periodontitis who were non smokers (
... Show MoreTo determine the relationship between celiac disease and reproductive disorder, twenty two women with recurrent spontaneous abortion (18-35) years have been investigated from the period 2017/11/1 – 2018/2/1 and compared wih twenty two parentally healthy women. All studied groups were carried out to measure antitissue transglutaminase IgA and IgG antibodies by Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique, There were a highly significant differences (P < 0.01) in the concentration of anti TtG IgA and IgG Ab compared to control group, while there was non-significant differences (P > 0.05) in the concentration of anti TtG IgA according to the age group and there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the concentration of anti TtG I
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