The levels of circulating angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors, namely vascular endothelial growth factor–A (VEGF-A) and soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1), have been linked to the development of renal dysfunction due to the proliferation of microvasculature within the kidneys of type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients. The study aims to scrutinize serum levels of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in a sample of Iraqi diabetic nephropathy patients to support their reliability as markers for the prediction of nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients as well as to assess the ACE inhibitor’s effect on the levels of these two markers. Method: The ninety participants of this case-control study were split into three groups: thirty-five patients with T2DM and an equal number of patients with DN and the third group involve twenty apparently healthy individuals as the control group. The two diabetic groups have been further divided into four groups according to the ACE inhibitors use. Laboratory measurements involve the glycemic indices, renal function test with serum VEGF-A and sVEGFR-1. Results: the median serum levels of VEGF-A show valuable discrepancies between the three groups (p-value<0.05) but for sVEGFR-1 it doesn’t show a notable difference between the DM and the DN groups only(p-value> 0.05).
To evaluate the effects of the ShotBlocker and vibration device on pain intensity and patient satisfaction during subcutaneous (SC) insulin injections in hospitalized adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
In this randomized controlled trial, 102 patients with type II diabetes mellitus were randomly assigned into 3 groups: 35 patients in the ShotBlocker group, 36 patients in the vibration group, and 31 patients in the control group. ShotBlocker was applied immediately before and during the injection, while the vibration was applied fo
Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic rheumatic inflammatory disease affecting mainly the spine and sacroiliac joints. Since the copper-to-zinc ratio (Cu/Zn) indicates an inflammatory response, the change in ratio is expected to correlate with axSpA. This study compared levels of Cu/Zn in the serum of axSpA patients. Serum samples were obtained from 53 patients with axSpA divided according to biological treatment into cohorts A and B, and 28 healthy control as cohort C. Serum levels of Cu and Zn were determined first by a fully automated chemistry analyzer TC-Matrix Plus, then the ratio was obtained. The elevated serum Cu concentration means of cohort B (189.32 ± 13.808 µg/dL) compared to cohort A (168.85 ± 7.244 µg/dL) a
... Show MoreEpithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. To date, an effective screening tool for ovarian cancer has not been identified Several clinical and biological factors including serum cancer antigen 125 (CA- 125) have been assessed for prognostic and predictive relevance CA-125 is an epithelial marker derived from coelomic epithelium. It is elevated in 90% of advanced ovarian cancers and in 50% of early ovarian cancers while 20% of ovarian cancers have low or no expression of CA- 125 CA-125 concentrations were measured by Mini Vidas test (VIDAS CA125 II / BIOMERIEUX / France). The median CA-125 levels were significantly higher in the sera of ovarian cancer patients than in those with benign tumors an
... Show MoreBackground: Rhinosinusitis is an inflammatory disorder that refers to inflammation of the nose and paranasal sinuses. Recent studies show that serum IL-33, periostin, ARGE and sST2 had the role in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis as an easy, non-invasive and readily available (biomarker) for diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis. We tested for correlations of IL-33, periostin, ARGE and sST2 between acute and chronic rhinosinusitis in compare to healthy people. This study aimed to Measure serum levels of periostin, IL-33, sST2, and ARGE biomarkers in patients ARS and CRS. Materials and Methods: We collected serum of 30 patients with acute rhinosinusitis, 30 with chronic rhinosinusitis, and 30 controls to examine serum levels of IL-3
... Show MoreAge, hypertension, and diabetes can cause significant alterations in arterial structure and function, including changes in lumen diameter (LD), intimal-medial thickness (IMT), flow velocities, and arterial compliance. These are also considered risk markers of atherosclerosis and cerebrovascular disease. A difference between right and left carotid artery blood flow and IMT has been reported by some researchers, and a difference in the incidence of nonlacunar stroke has been reported between the right and left brain hemispheres. The aim of this study was to determine whether there are differences between the right and left common carotid arteries and internal carotid arteries in patient
This study tests the effect of a large number of independent variables that control the growth of the total productivity, which amounted to 112 variables, gathered from what is mentioned in the specialized theoretical and applied literature. The data for these variables were taken from global reports of sound international organizations and reliable databases covering the period 1991-2016. The data of the dependent variable, the growth of the total factor productivity, were taken from the database of the world development indicators. The study covered 61 countries for which data were available. The study included three regression models to explain
... Show MoreBackground: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) constitutes about 4% of salivary epithelial tumors and is the second common malignant epithelial salivary gland tumor involving both the major and minor salivary glands. Aims of the study is to evaluate immunohistochemical expression of Ki67 and p53 proteins in ACC. Materials and Methods: immunohistochemical analyses of fifteen cases of formalin – fixed paraffin – embedded tissues blocks of ACC of salivary glands using ki67 and p53 antibodies. Results: ki67 was expressed in 6 of 15 ACC (40%) while p53 aberration was demonstrated in 11 of tumor (73.3%). There was a statistically significant difference between the expression of ki67 and p53 proteins in ACC cases (p value = 0.041). Pearson’s cor
... Show MoreBackground: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative autoimmune disease mediated by autoreactive T cells against myelin-basic proteins. Cytokines are suggested to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of the disease. Among these cytokines is interleukin-2 (IL-2). Aim of the study: To investigate the association between IL2+166 G/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP: rs2069763) and MS in Iraqi patients. Serum level of IL-2 was also detected. Anti-rubella IgG antibody was further determined in the sera of patients. Patients and methods: Eighty MS patients (28 males and 52 females; age mean ± SD: 39.2 ± 16.1 years) and 80 healthy control matched patients for age (32.15 ± 16.13 years) and gender (28 males and 52 females) were en
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