All major organs may be impacted by the connective disease systemic lupus erythematosus, a separate risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). Adhesion molecules like intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) and vascular cell adhesion molecules (VCAM) can detect endothelial damage and dysfunction, which appear to play a crucial role. This study investigated whether people with SLE had elevated subclinical and clinical atherosclerosis risk factors. Traditional CAD risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia cannot entirely explain this elevation. It is thought that immunological dysfunction also increases CAD risk in SLE patients. The study aimed to assess early endothelial changes in SLE Iraqi female patients without previous coronary artery lesions by exploring a potential relationship between circulating VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 as risk factors for atherosclerosis and the relationship of CAD with SLE disease and its severity; further, the study explained the effect of the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on the lipid profile levels of the patients. 92 female SLE patients were divided into mild, moderate, and severe, according to the SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2k), compared with 30 apparently healthy control individuals. All of them need a history of CAD. Serum VCAM-1, ICAM-1 level, VCAM-1/ICAM1 ratio, TC, HDL, LDL levels TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were measured. sVCAM-1, sICAM-1 levels and VCAM-1/ICAM-1 ratio were significantly and gradually increased in patient groups compared with control. Serum TC, HDL and LDL levels were significantly reduced in the SLE patients compared to the control. At the same time, the TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were significantly elevated with the severity of the SLE disease. sVCAM-1, sICAM-1 level and VCAM1/ICAM-1 ratio together with serum TC/HDL and LDL/HDL may improve coronary artery disease risk categorization in SLE patients without acute coronary syndromes. Furthermore, they were more sensitive in severe SLE instances than in moderate and mild ones, suggesting that they may be related to the extent of coronary lesions in SLE patients. VCAM-1 had a higher sensitivity than ICAM-1 in detecting and severity screening for CAD in SLE patients. Keywords: VCAM-1, ICAM-1, SLE, Atherosclerosis
Recurrent respiratory tract infections are responsible for about 85% of all diseases in childhood, and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to evaluate the main causes underlying recurrent respiratory tract infections in 176 pediatric patients aged 2 month to 4 year and weight from 4 to11 kg referred to the child center hospital and Al-sader hospital prospective study.All parents were given information sheet which then analyzed and the percentage of incidence of causes were recorded, we found that higher % related to many causes; mostly related to the parent like poor family education, mother carelessness, incomplete vaccination, other related to empirical diagnosis, and short course of t
... Show MoreSUMMARY. The objectives of the present study were to assess the possible predictors of COVID-19 severity and duration of hospitalization and to identify the possible correlation between patient parameters, disease severity and duration of hospitalization. The study included retrospective medical record extraction of previous coron avirus COVID-19 patients in Basra hospitals, Iraq from March 1st and May 31st, 2020. The information of the participants was investigated anonymously. All the patients’ characteristics, treatments, vital signs and laboratory tests (hematological, renal and liver function tests) were collected. The analysis was conducted using the SPSS (version 22, USA). Spearman correlation was used to measure the relations
... Show MoreThe occurrences of invasive candidiasis has increased over the previous few decades. Although Candida albicans considers as one of the most common species of organisms, that cause acquired fungal infections. Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen and inherent in as a lifelong, the yeast is present in healthy individuals as a commensal, and can reside harmlessly in human body. However, in immuno-compromised individuals, the fungus can invade tissues, producing superficial infections and, in severe cases, life-threatening systemic infections. This review wills emphasis on virulence factor of C. albicans including (adhesion, invasion, candida proteinase, and phenotypic switching and biofilm formation. I
... Show MoreWohlfahrtia longicorpuris sp. nov., from Iraq described, illustrated and distinguished from related species. The adults were reared from larvae collected from ulcer of a human face. Wohlfahrtia Brauer and Bergenstam is one of most important genus,which contains 19 species (Pape, 1998), some of these produce myiasis in mammals (Verves,1985).Taxonomic revision of this genus has been carried out by the following authors: Rohdendrof (1956), Zumpt (1965) and Pape (1996).
Background: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic heterogeneous demyelinating axonal and inflammatory disease involving the Central Nervous System [CNS] white matter with a possibility of gray matter involvement in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to communicate, resulting in a wide range of signs and symptoms. Cerebral venous insufficiency theory was raised as a possible etiology for the disease at 2008 by Zamboni an Italian cardiothoracic surgeon. This theory was defeated by Multiple Sclerosis[ MS] researchers and scientists who thought that the disease is an autoimmune rather than vascular.
Obj
... Show MoreBackground : Hyperglycosylated hCG a newly discovered variant of hCG which can be used as a predictor of invasion of trophoblastic cells in patient with gestational trophoblastic disease. Objectives : To measure hyperglycosylated human chorionic gonadotrophin and to assess how far it can be used as predictor of invasion in invasive mole and choriocarcinoma. Study design control study. Setting: : Case Gynecological department in Baghdad Teaching Hospital from January 2016 to January 2017. Patient and Methods : 60 women were enrolled in this study 30 of them were with gestational trophoblastic disease (no.= 30 ) the remainder were normal pregnancy (no. =30) , hCG –H level was measured in both groups. Results : Mean serum hCG-H le
... Show MoreThis study aimed to isolate and identify Cryptococcus species from three distinct sources: sputum samples of pigeon fanciers, dried pigeon droppings, and eucalyptus tree leaves. A total of 150 specimens were collected over a two-month period, comprising 50 samples each from human sputum, pigeon droppings collected across various areas of Baghdad, and eucalyptus leaves obtained from the Baghdad College of Veterinary Medicine. All samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol and incubated at 25°C for 2–3 days. From the initial cultures, 20 isolates presumptively identified as Cryptococcus spp. were obtained: 6 isolates (12%) from human sputum, 9 isolates (18%) from pigeon droppings, and 5 isol
... Show MoreThis study aimed to isolate and identify Cryptococcus species from three distinct sources: sputum samples of pigeon fanciers, dried pigeon droppings, and eucalyptus tree leaves. A total of 150 specimens were collected over a two-month period, comprising 50 samples each from human sputum, pigeon droppings collected across various areas of Baghdad, and eucalyptus leaves obtained from the Baghdad College of Veterinary Medicine. All samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol and incubated at 25°C for 2–3 days. From the initial cultures, 20 isolates presumptively identified as Cryptococcus spp. were obtained: 6 isolates (12%) from human sputum, 9 isolates (18%) from pigeon droppings, and 5 isol
... Show Morerhabditid Mesorhabditis franseni Fuchs, 1933 (Family, Mesorhabditidae) and pratylenchid nematode Pratylenchus goodeyi Sher and Allen, 1953 (Family, Pratylenchidae). They were illustrated by molecular aspects. All specimens of both genera were cultured and reproduced for DNA extraction. M. franseni (IRQ.ZAh2 PP528819.1 isolate) was characterized. P. goodeyi (IRQ.ZAh5 PP535537 isolate) was also characterized. Selected specimens of these two species were molecularly characterized using the partial ITS-rRNA gene sequences. The ITS-rRNA sequence of IRQ.ZAh2 PP528819.1 isolate had a range of (98.62%-100%) sequence homology with ITS-rRNA sequence of M. franseni available in NCBI database. While, the ITS-rRNA sequence of IRQ.ZAh5 PP535537 isolate h
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontal diseases are inflammatory disorders caused by the accumulation of oral biofilm and the host response to this accumulation which characterized by exaggerated leukocytes and neutrophils attraction to the sites of inflammation by chemoattractants which are a very important part of the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases. This study aimed to determine and compare the clinical periodontal parameters and the leukocyte cell types in the peripheral blood between patients with gingivitis and periodontitis with different severities compared to healthy controls. Materials and methods: This study included 150 male subjects aged between 35-50 years. They were divided into three groups: gingivitis group (n=30), periodontitis p
... Show More