INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

Replication of Viruses: A Review

Saja Jamal Noman — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Viruses are among the smallest parasitic organisms in our world. They are non-living because they cannot reproduce without the cells of other living organisms, whether plants, animals, humans, or bacteria. Viruses are transmitted to living organisms in many ways and are found all around us in enormous numbers. Despite the differences between viruses, there are some basic steps similar in the viral life cycle. Antibiotics have no effect on viruses, so a few antiviral drugs have been developed. However, since there are relatively few targets for these drugs to interfere with, they are ineffective. This is because the virus reprograms its host cell to produce new viruses, making almost all the proteins used in this process part of the host's own tissue, with only a few being viral proteins.

The Hypolipidemic Effect of Liposomal Atorvastatin in Wistar Albino Rats with Dyslipidemia

Barda Anwer Jasim, Muneef Saab Ahmeed, Rafah Razooq Hameed Al-Samarrai — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Background: Atorvastatin is the cornerstone of hyperlipidemia therapy. It lowers lipids and shows cardioprotective effects. However, challenges like low bioavailability and side effects exist. Liposomal technology presents a solution by encapsulating the drug, enhancing its effectiveness, and decreasing side effects by providing more efficient delivery to the liver. The synergistic action of quercetin additionally improves this outcome.

Objective: The current study aimed to evaluate the hypolipidemic effect of liposomal atorvastatin (LA) compared to free atorvastatin in albino Wistar rats with hypercholesterolemia.

Patients and Methods: Liposomal atorvastatin was prepared using a modified thin-film hydration method. The hypolipidemic effect of LA was evaluated using adult, healthy male

Wistar albino rats, which were randomly divided into a negative control group (C-) and a high-cholesterol diet group containing 27 animals. The high-cholesterol diet was administered for four weeks to induce hypercholesterolemia. Following this induction period, the 27 hypercholesterolemic rats were further categorized into three groups for the treatment: Positive Control Group (C+), including hypercholesterolemic rats; Atorvastatin Group, which orally administered 20 mg/kg/day of atorvastatin for 4 weeks; and LA Group, which orally administered 10 mg/kg/day of LA for 4 weeks. The serum concentration of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and HMG-CoA reductase was determined in the current study.

Results: The study results indicate that the morphological shape of LA was A large unilamellar vesicle, a single-layered vesicle composed of a single lipid bilayer enclosing a single aqueous core. The average size was 13.78±2.38 µm, and the zeta potential reached approximately -74.45 mV. Furthermore, the results showed that TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, VLDL, and HMG-CoA reductase enzyme levels were significantly elevated in the C+ group. These levels then significantly decreased after treatment with both atorvastatin and LA.

Conclusion: Our study concludes that the liposomal co-formulation of atorvastatin and quercetin is a stable and highly effective therapeutic strategy for hyperlipidemia. This novel delivery system enhances drug bioavailability and targets the liver, significantly reducing serum lipids and HMG-CoA reductase activity in dyslipidemic rats.

Vitamin D Level in Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients

Fatimah Karrar Azeez — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Background: Vitamin D insufficiency is considered most prevalent nutritional deficiency that is untreated and undiagnosed globally. This vitamin deficiency has proliferated to pandemic levels, even though it is created in the human body when exposed to sunlight. One steroid hormone that is necessary for preserving reproductive health is vitamin D.

Materials and method: This study was conducted at Azadi Hospital - Specialized Oncology Center. The study included most of the patients with breast cancer who visited the center between February 2025 and May 2025 and the control samples taken from healthy subjects. Samples from women who were taking vitamin D supplements and osteoporosis treatment were excluded. Samples were analyzed using a Cobas instrument which depended on the spectrophotometer principle.

Results: The findings showed that the vitamin D levels in three grade I, II, and III individuals who were pre-menopausal and menopausal increased in a non-significant (P > 0.05) manner.

Conclusion: Statistical analysis of the data showed that, in comparison to healthy subjects, the vitamin D levels in general in-patient breast cancer patients of all grades declined

Spectrophotometric Determination of Bromhexine Hydrochloride in Pharmaceutical Formulation Using Ion-Pair Complexation with Alizarin Red S

Samer Rafeh Younes, Eman Thiab Ahmed — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Background: Bromhexine hydrochloride is a synthetic mucolytic agent that has gained wide prescription for respiratory diseases, under which chronic bronchitis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease occur. Several analytical techniques have been reported for BRH determination include titrimetric, spectrophotometric, chromatographic, and electrochemical approaches. However, some involve complex instrumentation, skilled labor, and expensive consumables to run the assays thereby limiting their availability for routine quality control applications particularly in resource-limited laboratories.

Objective: To develop simple, sensitive and specific determination method for bromhexine hydrochloride in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations.

Methods: A simple, rapid, and accurate method of spectrophotometry was developed that is specific for the quantitative measurement of bromhexine hydrochloride (BRH) in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations. The method involves the creation of a stable complex between BRH and Alizarin Red S that exhibits the greatest absorption at 470nm. experimental variables, including the concentration of the dye, the pH of the solution, the temperature of the solution, and the length of the reaction, were systematically altered in order to increase the sensitivity and stability of the complex.

Results: Under the best conditions, the calibration graph exhibited a high degree of linearity over the concentration range of 30-100 µg/mL with a correlation coefficient of R² = 0.999. The method demonstrated a high degree of sensitivity, with a LOD of 0.375 µg/mL and a LQ of 1.137 µg/mL. Validation studies demonstrated that the accuracy was high (recoveries of 98-102%) and the precision was low (RSD < 3%). The proposed methodology was successful in the analysis of a commercial pharmaceutical preparation with a high concentration of ibuprofen (Solvodin syrup, SDI Samarra, Iraq), which yielded recovery values that were in close agreement with the labelled claims. The method of Job's was employed to assess the stoichiometric ratio between BRH and Alizarin Red S. Other spectrophotometric methods were compared with this approach, which had the benefits of being simple, cost-effective, and minimalistic in sample preparation, making it ideal for routine pharmaceutical quality control.

Conclusion: The developed method was simple and cost effective.

Instructions for Authors

Abdulghani Alsamarai — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

The International Journal of Medical Sciences [IJMS], ISSN 2522-7386, is a peer-reviewed, 3 issues published annually. Authors are invited to submit for publication articles with a wide spectrum of coverage reporting original work, in the fields of medicine, nursery, dentistry, and pharmacy sciences. Review articles are usually by invitation only. However, Review articles of current interest and high standard will be considered. Prospective work should not be back dated. There are also sections for Case Reports, Brief Communication, correspondence and medical news items. Authors should read the editorial policy and publication ethics before submitting their manuscripts. Authors should also use the appropriate reporting guidelines in preparing their manuscripts