BACKGROUND: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a proangiogenic factor that exerts different effects over stem cell survival growth, apoptosis, and adhesion. Its impact on leukemogenesis has been established by many studies. AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of plasma HGF activity on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients at presentation and after remission. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional prospective study of 30 newly-diagnosed, adult, and AML patients. All patients received the 7+3 treatment protocol. Patients’ clinical data were taken at presentation, and patients were followed up for 6 months to evaluate the clinical status. Plasma HGF levels were estimated by ELISA based methods in the pa

Patients infected with the COVID-19 virus develop severe pneumonia, which typically results in death. Radiological data show that the disease involves interstitial lung involvement, lung opacities, bilateral ground-glass opacities, and patchy opacities. This study aimed to improve COVID-19 diagnosis via radiological chest X-ray (CXR) image analysis, making a substantial contribution to the development of a mobile application that efficiently identifies COVID-19, saving medical professionals time and resources. It also allows for timely preventative interventions by using more than 18000 CXR lung images and the MobileNetV2 convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture. The MobileNetV2 deep-learning model performances were evaluated

The spread of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has resulted in chaos around the globe. The infected cases are still increasing, with many countries still showing a trend of growing daily cases. To forecast the trend of active cases, a mathematical model, namely the SIR model was used, to visualize the spread of COVID-19. For this article, the forecast of the spread of the virus in Malaysia has been made, assuming that all Malaysian will eventually be susceptible. With no vaccine and antiviral drug currently developed, the visualization of how the peak of infection (namely flattening the curve) can be reduced to minimize the effect of COVID-19 disease. For Malaysians, let’s ensure to follow the rules and obey the SOP to lower the

The present study aims to study the correlation between visfatin levels and metabolic syndrome in Iraqi obese adolescence (with and without metabolic syndrome) and its relation with other studied biochemical parameters. Sixty obese adolescences were depended in this study (with and without metabolic syndrome), compared with (30) non-obese children as control group. This study was done in the period from April 2020 until the end of December 2020, in the National Diabetes Centre/Mustansiriya University, Baghdad/Iraq. There were no significant differences in age, height, waist circumferences (WC), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in the patients' groups. In contrast, a significant increase differs (p<0.05) was recorded in the values of

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most endocrine problem in women of regenerative age. PCOS women typically belong to an age and sex group which is at higher risk for severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 targets cells through angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor presents on cells in veins, lungs, heart, digestion tracts, and kidneys. Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) over activity has likewise been described in metabolic disorders; type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and conditions shared by women with polycystic ovary condition. The point of this study is to know the job of renin and ACE2 in PCOS and coronavirus and its relationship with hormones and other metabolic parameters related. The study groups consist of 1

Electronic learning was used as a substitute method for learning during the COVID-19 pandemic to conduct scientific materials and perform student assessment; this study aimed to investigate academic staff opinions toward electronic education. A cross-sectional study with a web-based questionnaire distributed to academic staff in different medical colleges in Iraq. After de-identification, data were collected and analyzed with statistical software to determine the significance between variables. A total of 256 participants were enrolled in the study: 83% were not satisfied or neutral to online learning, 80% showed a poor benefit from delivery of the practical electronic knowledge and 25% for theoretical sessions with a significant difference

Background: Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has enormously affected various healthcare services including the one of community pharmacy. The ramifications of these effects on Iraqi community pharmacies and the measures they have taken to tackle the spread of COVID-19  is yet to be explored. In this cross sectional survey, infection control measures by community pharmacies in Sulaimani city/Iraq has been investigated.        

Methods: Community pharmacists were randomly allocated  to participate in a cross-sectional survey via visiting their pharmacies and filling up the questionnaire form.

Results and discussion:

Thrombosis is a common clinical feature associated with morbidity and mortality in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients. Cytokine storm in COVID-19 increases patients' systemic inflammation, which can cause multiple health consequences. In this work, we aimed to indicate the effect of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination on the modulation of monocyte chemoattractant protein-3 (MCP-3), matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels, and other systemic inflammatory biomarkers that associates with COVID-19 severity in patients who suffers from thrombosis consequences. For this purpose, ninety people were collected from Ibn Al-Nafees Hospital and divided into three groups each of which contained 30 people, 15

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive airflow limitation that is preventable but not curable. It is associated with persistent symptoms that cause a considerable burden on individual productivity at work, and daily activities, and reduced quality of life, also burdening the healthcare system and society. Objectives: The study aims to measure the burden of COPD on patients in terms of daily activities and work productivity. It also seeks to investigate some inflammatory biomarkers' levels and their correlation with selected outcomes. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 120 stable COPD patients who were diagnosed and treated according to the GOLD guidelines at Kirkuk General Hospital's