Blastocystis is a ubiquitous human and animal protozoa that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Metronidazole is considered the standard drug for the treatment of Blastocystis infection; however, there is growing evidence of treatment failure, hazardous side effects, and appearance of strains resistant to metronidazole. In the last era, many studies have been implicated in the quest for new treatments for Blastocystis infection, especially natural products. Attention has been focused on the effect of Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seed on eradicating parasitic infections. The current work was built up to explore the in vitro efficacy of two natural compounds, Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seeds against

Two groups of chronic hepatitis B and C virus patients were divided into Pre-treated patients (25 CHB patients with positive HBs Ag for more than 6 months and 40 CHC patients), and post-treated patients [12 CHB patients (4, 6, and 2 were treated with lamivudine, IFN-? and combination of LMV + IFN-? respectively), and 27 patients for CHC (3, 13 and 11 patients were treated with Ribavirin, IFN-? and combination therapy (RBV+ IFN-?) respectively].These patients were followed up for 6 months. By using ELISA technique, levels of IL-6, IL-10, IFN-? and TNF-? were measured in vivo and in vitro (supernatant of PBMCs stimulated with PHA) and compared with healthy control. The mean level of IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-? in CHB patients showed significant dif

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

Background: While warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are used to manage thromboembolic events, they possess several features that impact adherence. Objective: To assess medication adherence and self-efficacy in patients receiving warfarin or DOAC treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed at Ibn Al-Bitar Hospital in Baghdad from December 2022 to May 2023 on patients receiving either warfarin or DOACs. The Arabic version of the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS) questionnaire and the Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease 6-Item Scale (SES6C) questionnaire were used to assess adherence and self-efficacy. Results: 181 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 56.9% received warfarin an

Aim and Objectives: The objective of this study was to illustrate the link between periodontitis (PO) and endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive patients. Materials and Methods: This cross‑sectional study involved 53 hypertensive patients with or without PO compared with 28 healthy controls. On the basis of the study protocol, the participants were divided into three groups: Group (1): 24 patients with hypertension only, Group (2): 29 patients with hypertension and PO, and Group (3): 28 healthy controls. Lipid profile, endothelin‑1 (ET‑1), and high‑sensitivity C‑reactive protein (hs‑CRP) were measured. Blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) were evaluated. Diagnostic criteria of severe PO periodontal indices including plaque

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes have an increased prevalence of lipid abnormalities, contributing to their high risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD).Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a routinely used marker for long-term glycemic control. In accordance with its function as an indicator for the mean blood glucose level, HbA1c predicts the risk for the development of diabetic complications in diabetic patients[2].Apart from classical risk factors like dyslipidemia, HbA1c has now been regarded as an independent risk factor for (CVD) in subjects with or without diabetes.Objective The aim of this study was to find out association between glycaemic control (HbA1c as a marker) and serum lipid profile in type 2 diabetic patients.Methods

This 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

Recently, Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was considered as one of the autoimmune diseases that the genetic and environmental factors contributed in the disease etiological profile. According to the environmental factors, infectious agents have been concluded to have a role in the etiology and pathogenesis of SLE. Chlamydia pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are among these infectious agents that have been suggested to be involved in the etiology of SLE. Accordingly, the current study was designed to assess the anti-C. pneumoniae and anti-M. pneumoniae IgG antibody status by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the sera of 64 Iraqi SLE females' patients and 32 Iraqi healthy females as controls. The patients' group were distribu

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused enormous issues worldwide and is the most infectious pandemic. This study included 50 subjects (evenly distributed between sexes) and their range of ages starting from 2 to 67 years. According to the study's result, the ages and genders of subjects include susceptibility to COVID-19. Males were found to be more infected than females, and the ages of 36 to 67 were more common than other age ranges. Also, BMI calculations revealed that male patients with COVID-19 have the highest percentage of obesity. The clinical parameter results have been found serum C‐reactive protein (CRP) as an essential indicator that changes significantly in infection with COVID‐19 an