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.
Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and systemic autoimmune disease that is characterized by severe synovial inflammation, cartilage erosion, bone loss, and generalized vasculopathy. Although the immunologic mechanism of RA is still unclear, it is now thought to be a primarily Th17-driven disease. Along with other factors, IL-23 stimulates the expansion of Th17 cells from naive CD4+ T cells.
Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-23 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and determine the correlation between plasma/serum IL-23 levels and disease activity. So, we performed a systematic review with meta-analysis comparing
... Show MoreBackground: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a collection of chronic, recurrent inflammatory illnesses of the gastrointestinal system, including Crohn's disease (CD). Infliximab is one of the biological medications used to treat CD. Therapeutic drug monitoring has evolved as a treatment in IBD, aiming to optimize benefit while meeting more demanding, objective end criteria. Objective: To determine the achievement of target trough level (TL), develop anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) to infliximab, assess response to therapy, and study TL relations with different variables. Methods: The present study was cross-sectional and conducted from May 2022 to November 2022. It included 40 CD patients allotted into 2 groups: group 1 patients ach
... Show MoreNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of chronic liver and defines by fat accumulation ≥5% in liver which can progresses to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NAFLD related to obesity as well as non obese individuals. Adiponectin is a cytokine secreted from adipose tissue involved NAFLD pathogenesis and liked with obesity. Irisin is a myokine, has a convenient effect against metabolic diseases such as obesity, disylipemia diabetes type 2 and reversed liver steatosis and may be related with NAFLD. Vitamin D is one of the fat soluble vitamins and more precisely as a pro-hormone through its metabolite (1,25(OH)2 cholecalciferol) the major steroid hormone. After the skin exposure to the light, vitamin D undergoes to
... Show MoreBackground: Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) is a chemokine expressed by inflammatory and endothelial cells. It has a crucial role in initiating, regulating, and mobilizing monocytes to active sites of periodontal inflammation. Its expression is also elevated in response to pro-inflammatory stimuli and tissue injury, both of which are linked to atherosclerotic lesions. Aim of the study: To determine the serum level of MCP-1 in patients with periodontitis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in comparison to healthy control and evaluate the biomarker's correlations with periodontal parameters. methods: This study enrolled 88 subjects, both males and females, ranging in age from 36-66 years old, and divided into four groups: 1<
... Show MoreThe study is concern on determine the type of Candida spp.in leukemia patients that were infected with oral candidiasis as a result to their immune suppression (weekend immune system) due to their submission to radiation and chemotherapy treatment. The result showed that the most common isolates were C. guillermondii 19 which represent 31.66% of cases, then followed by C. itermedia 11 which represent 18.3%, while the less common isolates were for C. zeylamodes 3 which represent 5%.
Introduction: Cerebral hydatid disease (CHD) is rare and the multiple-cystic variety is even rarer. In this paper, we report a case of multiple CHD and explore a possible link with a preceding spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). Case presentation: A 27-year old gentleman with a history of surgically-evacuated, spontaneous ICH presented with severe headache, left-sided weakness - Medical Research Council (MRC) grade II - and recurrent tonic-clonic seizures, while on a full dose of anti-epileptic medication. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed multiple intra-axial cystic lesions in the right hemisphere. The cysts were removed intact using Dowling’s technique through a large temporoparietal crani
... Show MoreBackground: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a significant role in the activation of adaptive immunity and may have an essential role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objectives: To assess the gene expression of TLR4 in individuals with RA compared to healthy individuals. Methods: From July to December 2022. A total of 100 individuals were encompassed in the study, consisting of 50 individuals diagnosed with RA, of whom 42 were females and 8 were males, with an average age of 45.22 years. Additionally, there were 50 healthy control participants, 40 of whom were females and 10 were males, with an average age of 45.64 years. To assess the TLR4 transcript levels, blood samples were collected from each participant, and RN
... Show MoreHeart disease is a significant and impactful health condition that ranks as the leading cause of death in many countries. In order to aid physicians in diagnosing cardiovascular diseases, clinical datasets are available for reference. However, with the rise of big data and medical datasets, it has become increasingly challenging for medical practitioners to accurately predict heart disease due to the abundance of unrelated and redundant features that hinder computational complexity and accuracy. As such, this study aims to identify the most discriminative features within high-dimensional datasets while minimizing complexity and improving accuracy through an Extra Tree feature selection based technique. The work study assesses the efficac
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