Background: The COVID-19 virus outbreak had a massive effect on many parts of people's lives, as they were advised to quarantine and lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading, which had a big impact on people's mental health, anxiety, and stress. Many internal and external factors lead to stress. This negatively influences the body's homeostasis. As a result, stress may affect the body's capacity to use energy to defend against pathogens. Many recent investigations have found substantial links between human mental stress and the production of hormones, prohormones, and/or immunological chemicals. some of these researches have verified the link between stress and salivary cortisol levels. The aim of this study is to measure salivary cortisol as a stress biomarker as well as a total viable count of salivary bacterial microbiome among COVID-19 patients. Materials and methods: a sample of 84 adults patients was collected who were divided into two groups: the COVID-19 group consists of 42 patients and the COVID-19 free group which consists of 42 subjects. All subjects undergo a PCR test to confirm their health status. The collection of Un-stimulated saliva was done. Laboratory investigations were carried out to measure the total viable count of the salivary bacterial microbiome by culturing on Brain Heart Infusion Agar and to evaluate the salivary cortisol level using cortisol kit (Elecsys Cortisol II). Results: SPSS version 21 was used for statistical analysis. According to the statistical analysis, the salivary cortisol and total viable count of salivary bacterial microbiome values were substantially greater in the COVID-19 group than in the COVID-19 free group. Conclusion: A positive association was found between salivary cortisol and the total viable count of the salivary bacterial microbiome. So, when the concentration of salivary cortisol is elevated in the COVID-19 group, the level of the total viable count of the salivary bacterial microbiome is also elevated.
Background: The iron deficiency anemia along with hyperphosphatemia are the main complications of dialysis patients. Traditional iron supplement has been failed to correct iron deficiency anemia, therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of new phosphate binder, ferric citrate, in a sample of Iraqi patients with end stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis. Method: Prospective, randomized, open label, active controlled trial was conducted in one center for dialysis in Babylon governance. Patients were randomized to receive ferric citrate with dose of 6 g/d and calcium carbonate with dose of 3 g/d for eight weeks. Hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and count o
... Show MoreThis study focused on determining the markers of Macrophage migration inhibitor (MIF), as well as the N-telopeptides of type I bone collagen (NTX), and some other parameters (alkaline phosphatase (ALP), vitamin D (Vit D), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and magnesium (Mg), and their correlation with other parameters in osteoporosis. One hundred ten subjects were involved in the current study. There were two groups of patients: group I (30) women with severe osteoporosis and group II (30) women with mild osteoporosis. For comparison, 50 apparently healthy individuals were included as a control. Serum levels of MIF, and NTX were significantly higher in groups I and II as compared to the control group, which indicate that these two parameters
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study was to demonstrate the possible role of statins on the inflammatory biomarkers in patients with periodontal disease (PD) This cross-sectional study involved 74 patients with PD and/or dyslipidemia divided into Group A: 34 patients with PD (nonstatins users); Group B: 40 patients with PD (statins users); and Group C: 30 healthy controls. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured . Blood pressure prolife and indices of PD were evaluated in each group. Statistical analysis was conducted by using SPSS version 20.0.
The chronic renal disease is a principle common medical dilemma in Iraq. Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a prevalent infirmity in the hemodialysis people. The aim of present study was to estimate the prevalence of PAD in subjects with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This cross-sectional study was done between January 2016 and May 2017 on ESRD subjects regularly attending renal dialysis unit in Al-Kindy teaching hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. PAD was diagnosed on the base of the ankle-brachial index (ABI) measured by using a hand-held Doppler ultrasound. Subjects with ABI ≤0.9 were supposed positive for PAD. A total of 150 ESRD cases were analyzed. The mean age of the subject was 49.52±15 years. Majority of them were males 87(58%). Most
... Show MoreCoronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in United State (U.S.). Controlling of modifiable risk factors such as smoking, hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (D.M.), dyslipidemia, physical inactivity & obesity will prevent other serious cardiovascular complications
ABSTRACT : Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common inflammatory neurodegenerative diseases linked with dementia, it is characterized by the deposition of amyloid beta-peptide (Ab) in the brain. The present study aims to innovate a biochemical relationship between AD and interleukin 38 (IL-38) as an anti-inflammatory cytokine, expose novel mechanisms and concepts regarding other biochemical parameters studied previously or recently in AD patients and also examine the biochemical action of memantine (10 mg daily) on AD patients. Sixty (60) diagnosed AD patients participated in the present study and classified into four (4) groups: G3 were composed of (15) newly diagnosed males (52-78) years / without treatment, G4 composed of (15
... Show MoreBackground: The excessive use and abuse of antibiotics contribute to bacterial resistance, raising the risk of complications and treatment failures. This study investigates adherence to antibiotic prescriptions among Iraqi dental patients, highlighting implications for antimicrobial resistance.Objective: To assess adherence levels and identify factors influencing antibiotic therapy compliance among dental patients.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in which adult dental patients aged 18 and older, who had been prescribed antibiotics within the past year, participated. The modified Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 items was used to evaluate adherence, and data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics software V26.Results: Amon
... Show MoreLaser shock peening (LSP) is deemed as a deep-rooted technology for stimulating compressive residual stresses below the surface of metallic elements. As a result, fatigue lifespan is improved, and the substance properties become further resistant to wear and corrosion. The LSP provides more unfailing surface treatment and a potential decrease in microstructural damage. Laser shock peening is a well-organized method measured up to the mechanical shoot peening. This kind of surface handling can be fulfilled via an intense laser pulse focused on a substantial surface in extremely shorter intervals. In this work, Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) and pure water as a coating layer were utilized as a new technique to improve the properti
... Show MoreThis work studies the role of serum apelin-36 and Glutathione S-transferases (GST) activity in association with the hormonal, metabolic profiles and their link to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in healthy and patients' ladies with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A total of fifty-four (PCOS) patients and thirty-one healthy woman as a control have been studied. The PCOS patients were subdivided on the basis of body-mass-index (BMI), into 2-subgroups (the first group was obese-PCOS with BMI ≥ 30 and the second group was non-obese PCOS MBI<30). Fasting-insulin-levels and Lipid-profile, Homeostatic-model assessment-of-insulin-resistance (HOMA-IR), follicle-stimulating-hormone (FSH), luteinizing-hormone (LH), testosterone and
... Show MoreBackground: The most crucial mechanism of genetic variation in N. meningitidis is the slipped strand mispairing, this mechanism generates Phase variation using simple sequence repeat (SSR) and is commonly used by the N. meningitidis to escape the immune system despite its function in eradicating the pathogenic and commensal bacteria. Some of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) that located within the genome works as phase variation while other SSRs have no role in generating phase variation mechanisms. Therefore, Aim: the main goal of the current in silico study was to detect the probability of SSR to enroll with phase variation for the entire N. meningitidis genome. Methods: Different criteria were used to judge SSR as
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