Background: Studies discussing the correlation between biochemical markers of bone turnover and the diagnosis of osteoporosis in postmenopausal Iraqi women are rare. This study is devoted to find out the significance of serum osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin (OPN) levels with the incidence of osteoporosis and its major complication (fracture).Objectives: to investigate the significance of bone turnover biochemical markers; serum osteocalcin and serum osteopontin in evaluating osteoporosis for postmenopausal Iraqi women with and without history of vertebral fracture, as well as to explore the relationship of these markers with bone mineral density (BMD).Methods: Fifty seven postmenopausal women whose ages are fifty years old and over, categorized into two groups: osteoporosis postmenopausal women (n=30), and healthy postmenopausal women (n=27). All sera samples were analyzed for serum alkaline phosphatase, calcium and phosphorous by using spectrophotometric kit. Serum OC and OPN levels were measured by immunoassay (ELISA) kits. BMD were measured by (DEXA). Results: BMD and T-score were significantly lower in osteoporotic postmenopausal group as compared with healthy group (p=0.0001). Serum OC levels and serum OPN levels were elevated significantly in osteoporotic postmenopausal group as compared with healthy group (p=0.0001).Conclusions: The levels of OC and OPN in serum could be used as a biochemical indicator in the early diagnosis of osteoporosis postmenopausal women
Background: The repair of bone defects remains a major clinical orthopaedic challenge. Bone is a highly vascularised tissue reliant on the close spatial and temporal connection between blood vessels and bone cells to maintain skeletal integrity. Angiogenesis thus plays a pivotal role in skeletal development and bone fracture repair. The role of angiogenic and osteogenic factors in the adaptive response and interaction of osteoblasts and endothelial cells during the multi step process of bone development and repair will be highlighted in this study. This study aimed to identify the role of local exogenous vascular endothelial growth factor in bone healing and to analyze the expression of VEGF by immunohistochemistry in created bone defect af
... Show MoreRheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune diseasecharacterized by chronic inflammationthat affects joints and cartilage. Bone complications such asRA-relatedosteoporosis are one of the most extra-articular manifestations. Many inflammatory mediators are released during RA disease pathophysiology; these mediators stimulate osteoclast genesis of bone by direct effects on RANKL and OPG. The study aimedto measure RANKL, OPG in RA patients treated with Etanercept only and other groups treated with Methotrexate onlyat baseline and after three months to evaluate bone state. An observational case-control prospective study was done on 30 RA patients who received MTX, 30 RA patients who received ETN, and 30 healthy,age-matched control groups. The
... Show MoreThe neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have the potential to be inflammatory markers that reflect the activity of many inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the NLR and PLR as potential markers of disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
The study involved 132 patients with ankylosing spondylitis and 81 healthy controls matched in terms of age and gender. Their sociodemographic data, disease activity scores using the Bath Ankylosing
Background: Worldwide gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer with poor prognosis. In early stages, it is hard to distinguish gastric cancer from benign gastric diseases, resulting in delayed diagnosis. There is a need to develop a biomarker for differentiating between gastric cancer and benign gastric diseases. Serum cholinesterase is synthesized in liver and released into plasma, and it has an important role in oncogenesis.
Objectives: To determine the correlation between serum cholinesterase activity and gastric cancer, in comparison to benign gastric diseases.
Subjects and Methods: A case control study carried out at Medical City Direct
... Show MoreObjective: To measure the serum levels of Fetuin-A, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), and ferritin in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19in Baghdad, Iraq. Moreover, to determine these biomarkers' cut-off valuesthat differentiate between severely ill patients and control subjects. Methods: This case-control study was done from 15 September to the end of December 2021 and involved a review of the files and collectionof blood samples from patients (n=45, group1) hospitalized in COVID-19 treatment centersbecause of severe symptoms compared tohealthy subjects as controls (n=44, group2). Results: Fetuin-A serum levels were not statistically different between patients and controls. In contrast, IMA and ferritin levels were significan
... Show MoreThe long healing time of bone after tooth extraction in order to construct artificial teeth is uncomfortable to the patient because of aesthetic or masticatory problems in addition to the daily visit to dental clinic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of 805 nm diode laser with long time intervals on repair of bone and skin incisions in rabbits through biochemical, radiological and histological findings. Eighteen New-Zealand rabbits were undergone surgical operations to make a cavity in the bone of the lower jaw, the rabbits were divided into two groups:- Group A (control group) containing nine rabbits. Group B (lased group) containing nine rabbits in which two cavities were done, one on the right side and the other
... Show MoreDiscourse markers are expressions used to connect sentences to what comes before or after and indicate a speaker's attitude to what he is saying.As linguistic items, they have important functions in discourses of various styles or registers. And being connective elements, discourse markers relate sentences, clauses and paragraphs to each other. "One of the most prominent function of discourse markers, however, is to signal the kinds of relations a speaker perceives between different parts of the discourse". (Lenk 1997: 2) Through political discourse, different types of discourse markers are used. This paper deals with the importance and functions of discourse markers and tries to shed light on the kinds of discourse markers used in polit
... Show More