MMSL, 2025 (vol. 94), issue 2

CORRELATION BETWEEN GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR GENE VARIATION AND RESPONSIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC BRONCHITIS TAKING ORAL PREDNISOLONEOriginal article

Mohammed T. Yaseen, Dalia B. Hanna, Ali M. Hadi

MMSL 2025, 94(2):48-57 | DOI: 10.31482/mmsl.2024.004  

Chronic bronchitis is increasingly reported as a healthcare challenge in clinical settings partially due to the disease's bad prognosis and unresponsiveness to therapy, including the ineffectiveness of glucocorticoids. The ineffectiveness could have a link with genetic polymorphism of receptor genes resulting in inappropriate glucocorticoid pharmacodynamics. We sought to identify the role of gene polymorphism in the response of patients with chronic bronchitis to prednisolone therapy. To do so, a total of 60 newly diagnosed chronic bronchitis patients enrolled in the present study. Prednisolone at a dose of 30mg/day for two weeks was given and respiratory...

EVALUATION OF CARNITINE AND LDH LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS AND ITS COMPLICATIONSOriginal article

Ahmed Ghdhban Al-Ziaydi, Murtadha Abdulhamid Kadhim, Radhi Farhod Shlash

MMSL 2025, 94(2):58-65 | DOI: 10.31482/mmsl.2024.005  

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a common condition that causes the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood to become too high. It can cause symptoms relative insulin deficit, whether due to beta-cell damage, insulin resistance. The study of carnitine and LDH levels in diabetic patients is significant because both play important roles in the metabolism of glucose and fatty acids. Carnitine is a compound that transports fatty acids into the mitochondria for energy production, while LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) is an enzyme involved in the conversion of glucose to lactate. Humans with type 2 diabetes develop lipid accumulation due to carnitine depletion....

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION, CLINICAL MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE VACCINES AGAINST THE TARGETED VIRAL COMPONENTS OF COVID-19Review article

Taha Nazir, Marya Ahmed, Hameed A. Mirza, Nida Taha

MMSL 2025, 94(2):66-71 | DOI: 10.31482/mmsl.2024.003  

Spike proteins on the surface of human corona viruses is important to enhance it’s competency to get transmit into other healthy population. Because of it’s specific spike protein, the virus got its name corona in 1960s. Afterward, it was renamed as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012. It was mortal for old population, new born babies and immune-compromised individuals, who didn't have sufficient immunity or defense system. On February 11, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) gave the names of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2. A characteristic of nCoV-19,...

HOW THE INFODEMIC HAS FUELLED STIGMATIZATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMICReview article

Thea Stensager Taule, Vanda Bostik

MMSL 2025, 94(2):72-78 | DOI: 10.31482/mmsl.2024.007  

At the same time as the world was shaken by the Covid-19 pandemic, another pandemic emerged, the “infodemic”. This article explores how the infodemic, through misinformation and disinformation, fueled the stigmatization of social groups during the pandemic and the consequences that followed. Stigmatization of individuals and groups in relation to infectious diseases has led to social exclusion, discrimination, and hate speech. This article highlights the history of stigmatization in connection to previous infectious disease outbreaks and calls attention to the role of the media and political leaders in fueling stigma. Consequences of stigmatization...

BEE VENOM – FRIEND OR ENEMYReview article

Ludovit Pudelka, Sylva Janovska, Jiri Malis, Radek Sleha, Pavel Bostik

MMSL 2025, 94(2):79-93 | DOI: 10.31482/mmsl.2024.006  

Increasing resistance to antibiotics, adverse effects of standard anti-cancer or anti-inflammatory treatments, or tumour types resistant to these treatments are leading to a search for alternatives. One of these is the use of natural products, such as bee venom, which have the same or better effect than these standard products. Bee venom has been used to treat a number of diseases for thousands of years. However, a significant obstacle remains the risk of severe allergic reactions, which can be caused by some of the more than 100 substances contained in the venom. Therefore, intensive research is currently underway to investigate not only the actual...