Media University of Babylon | College of Medicine, University of Babylon, Discusses COVID-19 Patients

Media University of Babylon - Faculty of Medicine

College of Medicine, University of Babylon, Discusses COVID-19 Patients

By : Zaynab Kadhim Ameen Awadh

Date : 27/11/2025 04:56:09 AM

College of Medicine, University of Babylon, Discusses COVID-19 Patients
The Department of Physiology at the College of Medicine, University of Babylon, discussed the Master’s thesis of student Safa Amer Hassan, titled “The Role of Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) and Its Genetic Polymorphisms in the Severity of COVID-19 Based on Selected Physiological and Immunological Parameters.” The thesis was supervised by Professor Dr. Samir Sawadi Hammoud and Assistant Professor Dr. Haider Ubaes Hashem.
The session was attended by Assistant Professor Dr. Ashraf Mohammed Ali Hussein, the Scientific Assistant Dean, along with a number of faculty members and postgraduate students.
During her defense, the researcher explained that infection with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) shows variable clinical and laboratory patterns among different population groups. Analyzing these variations—particularly those related to gender and genetic polymorphisms—can be useful in developing more precise and effective treatments based on the resulting biological indicators.
The study aimed to investigate differences in basic hematological and biochemical parameters among COVID-19 patients and to assess the relationship between the different genotypes of the genetic polymorphism (rs7299785) (TT, TC, CC) and the variation in levels of related biomarkers.
The results indicated a significant association between hemoglobin levels and loss of smell among infected patients, as well as a noticeable increase in ferritin levels in male COVID-19 patients, which may reflect enhanced inflammatory activity or altered iron metabolism. However, other laboratory parameters did not differ significantly between genders.
Furthermore, the studied genetic variations (TT, TC, CC) showed no clear effect on biomarker levels, suggesting a limited role for these polymorphisms in regulating laboratory outcomes among COVID-19 patients.