Investigating Serum Cortisol Dynamics and Cardiovascular Impacts Amid University Exam Stress: A Pre-Post Cohort Study.

Objective: Our objective was to investigate the perceived stress levels among pharmacy students enrolled at the University of Duhok both prior to and following examination periods, with a concurrent assessment of potential cardiovascular effects.

Methods: The study included 49 participants from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Duhok and utilized a pre-post cohort design. High-stress pre-examination assessments were scheduled at 8:30 AM on the day of the examination, and low-stress post-examination assessments were also conducted at 8:30 AM over a two-week period without academic examinations.

Memory impairment among recovered COVID-19 patients: The prevalence and risk factors, a retrospective cohort study.

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the prevalence of the long-term side effects of COVID-19, namely memory impairment among recovered patients, and obtaining the associated factors that link with memory impairment. It is a cross-sectional retrospective cohort study, that has been conducted from September to November 2022 in Iraq. People who were previously infected with COVID-19 were included.

The effect of erythroferrone suppression by transfusion on the erythropoietin-erythroferrone-hepcidin axis in transfusion-dependent thalassaemia: A pre-post cohort study.

To track post-transfusion changes on the erythropoietin (EPO)-erythroferrone (ERFE)-hepcidin axis, we collected blood samples from 82 regularly transfused patients with β-thalassaemia major (β-TM) immediately before and 4-6 days after transfusion. The post-transfusion haemoglobin, hepcidin, and ferritin levels were increased, while the EPO, ERFE, and soluble transferrin receptor were suppressed. In addition, hepcidin change was inversely associated with erythropoietic change, which was confirmed by an increase in the hepcidin-to-ERFE ratio after transfusion.