Enoxaparin Effect on Interleukin-10 Levels in Iraqi Patients with COVID-19: A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), an infectious disease resulting from a virus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), was discovered in China in 2019 and causes several mild to moderate respiratory conditions. This study aimed to reveal the changes in serum interleukin-10 (IL-10) and other parameters in Iraqi COVID-19 patients compared with healthy controls by studying the effects of enoxaparin and evaluating the potential of IL-10 as a disease activity marker. METHODS: This was a case-control study that included 180 samples: 90 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from November 2022 to 20 April 2023 (40 patients had never used enoxaparin, whereas 50 patients had taken enoxaparin) and 90 healthy, age- and sex-matched control. There were 44 female patients and 46 male patients. The mean age of the patients and controls was 53.8 years vs. 50.8 years, respectively. The sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to measure IL-10 levels, while other parameters were assessed using the colorimetric method. RESULTS: The results of the study indicated highly significant changes between the patients and healthy controls in IL-10, D-dimer, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, as well as liver and renal functions. These findings elucidated a significant change between enoxaparin patients and non-enoxaparin patients in IL-10, D-dimer, and CRP levels. However, the liver and renal functions were not significantly altered. The Spearman's rank correlation test investigated the relationship between serum IL-10 and CRP. CONCLUSIONS: The results displayed a strong positive relationship between IL-10 and CRP. There were no significant differences between the other analyzed parameters; consequently, the patients had higher concentrations of IL-10, D-dimer, and some other parameters than the healthy controls. Additionally, IL-10 may be used as a marker of disease activity. Enoxaparin will likely help control IL-10 and D-dimer concentrations in patients since IL-10 levels decreased in patients treated with enoxaparin.

Serum levels of zinc, copper, selenium and glutathione peroxidase in the different groups of colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered the fourth type of cancer that causes death worldwide. Changes in the levels of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and selenium (Se) as well as low glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity can lead to CRC and this study was aimed to evaluate their possible use as diagnostic markers. METHODS: CRC patients (n=90) were divided into three groups; newly diagnosed, before surgery, and after surgery. These groups were compared to healthy subjects (n=30); the mean age ±SD was 50.63±9.26 and 49.97±10.85 for CRC patients and healthy subjects, respectively. Biochemical study for serum levels of Zn and Cu was measured by FAAS, Se was measured by HGAAS, and ELISA for GPx. RESULTS: Zn, Cu, Se and GPx were significantly lower in all CRC patient groups, except for the after surgery group which showed no differences for Zn and GPx as compared to the healthy subjects. Positive correlations were found between Se and Zn and between Se and GPx (r=0.71, r=0.42; P<0.01, respectively) in all CRC patient groups. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied for the newly diagnostic group showing all the parameters that can be used as diagnostic markers for CRC. CONCLUSION: The present results conclude that Zn, Cu Se, and GPx can be used as diagnostic markers for CRC, where the decrease of these parameters may be associated with an increased risk of CRC and as indicators of the response to therapy.