Covid-19 is a respiratory disease similar to pneumonia that results from an infection with SARS-CoV-2, a recently identified virus that became a global pandemic in 2020. The severe cases of the disease show a cytokine storm, which is excessive, uncontrolled production of pro inflammatory cytokines. MicroRNA-155 is an epigenetic microRNA that has the ability to control pro-inflammatory responses in many diseases. We aim to determine the relationship between microRNA-155 expression and some cytokines (interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and interleukin-1β) in severe covid-19 cases. A case-control study of 235 samples was collected from 120 patients with severe covid-19 and 115 of mild covid-19 cases and healthy individuals of different sexes and ages. After RNA extraction and conversion to cDNA, RT-PCR was performed on both studied groups. The levels of studied interleukins were determined for 50 severe covid-19 patients and 40 control individuals (mild and healthy). A substantial elevation in the expression of microRNA-155 was seen in severe COVID-19 patients compared to its expression in the control group consisting of mild cases and healthy individuals. Interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and interleukin-1β also show elevated levels in severe covid-19 serum than control individuals. This investigation revealed a strong and statistically significant correlation between the expression of microRNA-155 and interleukin-6, as well as a substantial correlation between the expression of microRNA-155 and interleukin-1β. MicroRNA-155 might have a role in inducing some pro-inflammatory interleukins that leads to cytokine storm.
Numerous blood biomarkers are altered in COVID-19 patients; however, no early biochemical markers are currently being used in clinical practice to predict COVID-19 severity. COVID-19, the most recent pandemic, is caused by the SRS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The study was aimed to identify patient groups with a high and low risk of developing COVID-19 using a cluster analysis of several biomarkers. 137 women with confirmed SARS CoV-2 RNA testing were collected and analyzed for biochemical profiles. Two-dimensional automated hierarchy clustering of all biomarkers was applied, and patients were sorted into classes. Biochemistry marker variations (Ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase LDH, D-dimer, and C- reactive protein CRP) have split COVID-19 patien
... Show MoreCoronavirus 2 is the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which leads to severe acute respiratory illness. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been linked to leukocyte infiltration and chemokine activation during inflammatory responses. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP) family are thought to dampen the proinflammatory effects of these MMPs. The molecular pathways of lung fibrosis are mediated by MMPs and TIMPs. In this study, we sought to investigate the probable link between MMPs, specifically MMP-3, TIMP-2, and COVID-19. The study included 58 COVID-19 patients and 30 apparently healthy individuals matched in terms of age and sex. Multiplex real- time PCR was used to detect the ORF1ab, E, and N genes of
... Show MoreBackground: Severe forms of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) were found among 6 - 10% of all COVID-19 patients. Acute respiratory distress syndrome ARDS is non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema manifested by the rapid development of shortness of breath, tachypnea, and hypoxemia. Patients’ outcomes after critical care for COVID-19 have not been adequately documented in this low-resource environment, despite advocacy for prevention and response measures in low- and middle-income countries.
Objectives: To highlight the rate of severe illness among COVID-19 patients and its associated factors in Al-Imam Ali Hospital, Baghdad-Iraq 2021.
Patients and Methods: A descriptive cross
... Show MoreSufficient high-quality data are unavailable to describe the management approach and guideline of COVID-19 disease in pediatric and adolescent population which may be due to mild presentation in most of cases and less severe complications than older ages.
World Health Organization was concerned with the establishment of an approved guideline to manage the increasing number of COVID-19 patients worldwide aiming to prevent or lessen COVID-19 global burden.
The clinical features have a wide spectrum starting from uncomplicated mild illness, mild-moderate pneumonia, severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, septic shock, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
Many important definitions
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Background: Al-Najaf province , Iraq , has experienced an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of (Covid-19) infection have been reported but a detailed clinical course and risk factors for mortality including medical comorbidities and severity of illness at time of presentation , have not been well described.
Methods: From February 24 to April 7, 2020, a case series study done on 123 PCR-confirmed cases of (Covid-19) admitted to Al-Hakeem Hospital And Quarantine Center (AHQC), in Al-Najaf Province, Iraq. Demographics, clinical and laboratory data gathered from a local database at (AHQC). SPSS(statist
... Show MoreThis paper focuses on choosing a spatial mixture model with implicitly includes the time to represent the relative risks of COVID-19 pandemic using an appropriate model selection criterion. For this purpose, a more recent criterion so-called the widely Akaike information criterion (WAIC) is used which we believe that its use so limitedly in the context of relative risk modelling. In addition, a graphical method is adopted that is based on a spatial-temporal predictive posterior distribution to select the best model yielding the best predictive accuracy. By applying this model selection criterion, we seek to identify the levels of relative risk, which implicitly represents the determination of the number of the model components o
... Show MoreAcademia Open Vol 8 No 2 (2023): December DOI: 10.21070/acopen.8.2023.8087 . Article type: (Medicine)Impact of COVID-19 on Dental Students' Psychological Health Maryam Hameed Alwan, [email protected], (1) Department of Oral Diagnosis, College of Dentistry, Baghdad University, Iraq, Iraq (1) Corresponding author Abstract This study investigates the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental students at Baghdad University College of Dentistry. Conducted between December 2021 and January 2022, this cross-sectional survey aligns with ethical guidelines and the Helsinki Declaration. The study utilized Cochran's equation to determine a sample size of at least 400, ensuring a 95% confidence level with a 5% margin of e
... Show MoreThe possible effects of COVID-19 vaccines on reproductive health and male fertility in particular have been discussed intensely by the scientific community and the public since their introduction during the pandemic. On news outlets and social media platforms, many claims have been raised regarding the deleterious effects of COVID-19 vaccines on sperm quality without scientific evidence. In response to this emerging conflict, we designed this study to evaluate and assess the effect of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine on male fertility represented by the semen analysis parameters.
Background: Coronavirus is an enveloped RNA virus, from the genus Betacoronavirus, that is distributed in birds, humans, and other mammals. WHO has named the novel coronavirus disease as COVID-19.
Objective: We have conducted this review to focus on the studies that assessed the treatment efficacy and safety of Coronavirus (COVID-19) to describe its relation with the clinical outcomes of patients.
Method: PubMed, was searched for studies on the clinical evaluation of selected currently used treatments for COVID-19. we included six studies about therapeutic activity of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine, two case series about oseltamivir and three studies about lopinavir/riton
... Show MoreBackground: COVID-19 pandemic has influenced all life aspects; Dental staff, like other healthcare providers, may be exposed to COVID-19 as part of their work and its psychological impacts on healthcare workers should not be ignored
Objectives: To assess the anxiety, and fear from COVID-19 pandemic in dentists working in specialist dental centers: sample the Al-Resafa health directorate, and its relation between the anxiety, and COVID-19 fear with some of their demographic variables
Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2nd Jan. to 14th Feb. 2021, by an electronic version of questionnaire through Google-form; the questionnaire was formed based on Mental-Health-American-Org
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