Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative aging disease, with idiopathic PD being most common. Gastrointestinal tract disorders (GITD) and microbiota changes may trigger idiopathic PD. Neurotoxins from microbiota can travel from the gut to the brain via the brain-gut axis (BGA), leading to α-syn protein misfolding and dopaminergic neuron death. Methods: The aim of the current study was to investigate the link between PD and GITD by measuring several biochemical and immunological markers in 142 patients. The biochemical markers measured were vitamins B6, B12, and D, calcium, serotonin, ghrelin, dopamine, and α-syn protein. The immunological markers included transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). All markers were measured using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. Results: PD patients were significantly older (63.76±12.29 years) compared to GITD and control groups (41.00±15.54 and 41.25±18.30 years, respectively). Males predominated in the PD group (74.5%), while females were more common in the GITD and control groups. PD and GITD patients showed significantly lower levels of vitamins and neurotransmitters but higher calcium and α synuclein compared to controls. Immunological markers were elevated in PD and GITD groups, with significant differences between them (P-value < 0.001). Conclusion: The study concluded that certain biochemical and immunological markers provide strong evidence of the brain-gut axis's involvement in the initiation of idiopathic Parkinson's disease.
The present study was set to demonstrate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis infection and its effects on patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through determining their serum levels of anti-dsDNA and IL-18 antibodies. For this purpose, the sera from 132 SLE and/or toxoplasmosis patients and 30 healthy women, were collected. The study sample was divided into four groups of SLE, toxoplasmosis, SLE coinfected with toxoplasmosis, and healthy control. Anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were examined for all the samples using ELISA kit. The results showed a high mean level of anti-Toxoplasma IgG among SLE patients coinfected with toxoplasmosis (104.8792±12.31585pg/ml) in comparison to that in toxoplasmosis patients (91.1705±12.577
... Show MoreThis research attempts to find the association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL2+166 gene (rs2069763) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a sample of Iraqi patients. A total of 44 patients and 55 apparently healthy volunteers were genotyped for the SNP using polymerase chain reaction test. Three genotypes (GG, GT, and TT) corresponding to two alleles (G and T) were found to have SNP. Both study groups’ genotypes had a good agreement for the analysis of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. The results revealed increased frequencies between the observed and expected GG and TT genotypes and IL2+166 SNP T allele in T2DM patients (40.9 vs. 40.0 %; OR = 1.04; 95% CI, 0.47 - 2.31), whereas the values in the control group were
... Show MoreColorectal cancer CRC is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in males and the second in female, so it is a common and life-threatening disease serum of 48 males and 40 females suffering from CRC disease as group one (G1) without taking a chemotherapy dose, the same patients group tow (G2) after taking the first chemotherapy dose, while group three (G3) whose patients in (G1) and (G2) after second taking a chemotherapy dose. and group four (G4) consist of (30 males and 30 females) healthy Iraqi control. Results showed a significant increase in IL-17, IL-17RA and CEA in G1, while there was a significant decrease in vitamin D concentration in G1 than other groups, also there was positive (+ ve) significant correlation between IL-17 and CE
... Show MoreThe effect of α-particle irradiation on the optical absorption in nuclear track detectors (LR115) has been studied. These detectors have been irradiated with different doses. The optical absorption has been measured using the ultraviolet-visible (UV-1100) spectroscopy, that irradiation results in shifting the peaks of the optical absorption. The values of Urbach energy have been calculated from the position of steady-state optical band gap energy, for a standard sample which was unirradiated with indirect influence, has been found 1.9 eV whereas its value after irradiation 1.98 eV. In case of the direct influence, it is found to be, respectively, before irradiation 1.98 eV and after irradiation 2.05 eV. From these results, we can
... Show MoreObjective: The study aimed to screen the prepubertal children for idiopathic scoliosis at earlier stages, and find
out the relationship between idiopathic scoliosis and demographic data such as age, sex, body mass index,
heavy backpacks, and heart & lung diseases.
Methodology: A descriptive study was conducted on screening program for prepubertal children in primary
schools at Baghdad city, starting from 24th of February to the end of October 2010. Non- probability
(purposive) sample of 510 prepubertal children were chosen from primary schools of both sides of Al-Karkh
and Al-Russafa sectors. Data was collected through a specially constructed questionnaire format include (24)
items multiple choice questions, and
Background: Hyperthyroidism is a serious public concern, due the continuous increase in its prevalence and its impact on the mortality rates. Autoimmune hyperthyroidism is seen as a thyroid gland problem. Pro-inflammatory cytokines are crucial for the growth and development of hyperthyroidism, it was shown that the level of several pro-inflammatory cytokines were higher in the hyperthyroidism patients. Objective: This work was aimed to assessment the concentration of certain cytokine in hyperthyroid patients. Materials and Methods: Sixty hyperthyroidism patients and 30 healthy individuals with age range from (30-65) years old were enrolled in this study through their presence at the National Center for Diabetes Treatment and Research in Bag
... Show MoreThe apoptotic activity of methionine γ- lyase from Pseudomonas putida on cancer cell lines was indicated by measuring the concentration of cytochrome c in the supernatants of cell lines. The result revealed high concentration of cytochrome c in the supernatants of cancer cell lines (RD, AMGM and AMN3) respectively while the concentration of anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2) was very low.
Bacterial toxins are considered to be virulence factors due to the fact that they interfere with the normal processes of the host cell in which they are found. The interplay between the infectious processes of bacteria and the immune system is what causes this impact. In this discussion, we are going to focus on bacterial toxins that act in the extracellular environment, especially on those that impair the activity of macrophages and neutrophils. These toxins are of particular interest since they may be found in a wide variety of bacteria. We will be concentrating our efforts, in particular, on the toxins that are generated by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. These toxins are able to interact with and have an effect on the many dif
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