Determining the bacterial and viral meningitis trend in Iraq from 2007 till 2023 using joinpoint regression.

Background: Acute meningitis is a disease with case fatality and disability rate that is dependent on the causative agent. Objective: Determine the meningitis trend in Iraq from 2007 to 2023 using a joinpoint regression at national and sub-national levels and describe the epidemiology. Methods: Joinpoint regression model was used on surveillance data from Jan 2007 until May 2023, to calculate annual and average annual percent changes to determine the trend. Meningitis total count was modelled by year of reporting and province using the log transformation and Poisson variance. Best-fit model was chosen based on the weighted BIC criteria as the final point. Results: Bacterial meningitis was higher than viral meningitis from 2007 to 2018, then viral meningitis started to exceed till 2023. Meningococcal meningitis was lower than other bacterial and viral meningitis from 2007 to 2023. Most meningitis cases across the years were lower than 15 years, at almost 80 %, while 20 %-40 % were lower than one year. Across all years, 55 % of the cases were males; apart from 2019, 70 % were females. Conclusion: In Iraq, viral meningitis has been the predominant type since 2018. Most meningitis patients were lower than 15-year-old males. The meningitis trend in Iraq was stable from 2007 till 2023.

Role of genetically engineered mesenchymal stem cell exosomes and LncRNAs in respiratory diseases treatment.

The term acute respiratory disease encompasses a wide range of acute lung diseases, which in recent years have been ranked among the top three deadly diseases in the world. Since conventional treatment methods, including the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, have had no significant effect on the treatment process of these diseases, the attention of the medical community has been drawn to alternative methods. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are multipotential stem/progenitor cells that have extensive immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties and also play a critical role in the microenvironment of injured tissue. MSC secretomes (containing large extracellular vesicles, microvesicles, and exosomes) are a newly introduced option for cell-free therapies that can circumvent the hurdles of cell-based therapies while maintaining the therapeutic role of MSC themselves. The therapeutic capabilities of MSCs have been showed in many acute respiratory diseases, including chronic respiratory disease (CRD), novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID -19), and pneumonia. MSCs offer novel therapeutic approaches for chronic and acute lung diseases due to their anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. In this review, we summarize the current evidence on the efficacy and safety of MSC-derived products in preclinical models of lung diseases and highlight the biologically active compounds present in the MSC secretome and their mechanisms involved in anti-inflammatory activity and tissue regeneration.

Artificial intelligence in cancer diagnosis: Opportunities and challenges.

Since cancer is one of the world's top causes of death, early diagnosis is critical to improving patient outcomes. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a viable technique for cancer diagnosis by using machine learning algorithms to examine large volumes of data for accurate and efficient diagnosis. AI has the potential to alter the way cancer is detected fundamentally. Still, it has several disadvantages, such as requiring a large amount of data, technological limitations, and ethical concerns. This overview looks at the possibilities and restrictions of AI in cancer detection, as well as current applications and possible future developments. We can better understand how to use AI to improve patient outcomes and reduce cancer mortality rates by looking at its potential for cancer detection.

Arrhythmia related to hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy in Iraqi patients: frequency and outcome.

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) caused by high blood pressure is linked to increased mortality and arrhythmia risk. This study aimed to evaluate arrhythmia in hypertensive patients due to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). A cross-sectional study was performed, assessing participants' blood pressure, echocardiography and electrocardiography, and Holter monitoring in certain cases. There were 300 hypertensive patients >18 years attending the cardiology unit of Baghdad medical city. The study was conducted between January-June 2022. The electrocardiograms at rest for 300 adults with hypertension were investigated. 130 (43.5%) were females, and 170 (56.5%) were males. The mean age of participants was 58 years. Forty-nine (16.3%) patients had arrhythmia. As compared to those without arrhythmia, participants with arrhythmia were older (62.3 vs. 56.1, p=0.03), had a greater prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (24.5% vs. 12.7%, p=0.026), and more prone to experience cardiac failure (32.7% vs. 8.5%, p<0.011). Atrial fibrillation was found in 6 (27.2%) female patients and 5 (18.5%) males. In addition, two (7.4%) male patients and one female patient (4.5%) had atrial flutter, and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) were noted in 10 (37%) and 11 (50%) patients. Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was 103 gm/m2 in female patients and 119.2 gm/m2 in males. Palpitation was present in 22 (44.9%) female patients and 27 (55.1%) males. The study revealed that hypertensives with LVH have an arrhythmia frequency of 16.3%. The most common arrhythmias were atrial fibrillation and premature ventricular complex.

Effect and benefit of percutaneous coronary intervention in chronic total occlusion on ventricular repolarization: QT correction and dispersion.

ST segment, T wave changes, QT interval changes, and QTc dispersion are among the parameters used to diagnose ischemic heart disease. The increase in the QT dispersion can be caused by myocardial ischemia, among other heart diseases, whereas cardiac diseases such as coronary artery disease (CAD) can be diagnosed by observing an abnormally high QTc dispersion. This study aimed to evaluate the variations in the QTc dispersion (depolarization and repolarization) of surface electrocardiography as a result of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with chronic total occlusion. This study took place in the Iraqi Center for Heart Disease from October 2020 to February 2021. 110 patients who suffered from chronic occlusion of the coronary artery and underwent PCI revascularization were examined. Twelve-lead electrocardiograms were recorded at the time of admission (12 hours before intervention) and more than one hour after the intervention. The measured ECG parameters included corrected QT interval durations and corrected QT dispersion in both pre and post-PCI electrocardiograms, and their values were compared. The average corrected QT interval and QTC dispersion changed significantly before and after the percutaneous coronary intervention. Performing percutaneous coronary intervention on patients who suffer from coronary artery total occlusion shows a major reduction in the corrected QT dispersion.