Under the supervision of the Dean of the College of Pharmacy, Professor Dr. Sarmed H. Kathem Alkhateeb, the Continuing Education Unit at the University of Baghdad/College of Pharmacy held an in-person workshop entitled “Omentin as New Biomarker for the Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus”, delivered by Assistant Lecturer Sonia Emad Naser, a faculty member at the Clinical Laboratory Sciences Department.
The workshop aimed to introduce omentin and its role as a modern biomarker that can be used in the early diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus, with clarification of its relationship to insulin resistance and the metabolic changes that occur during pregnancy.
The workshop included several topics, including an overview of gestational diabetes, its causes, and the major risk factors associated with its occurrence among pregnant women, as well as its health effects on both the mother and fetus. The workshop also discussed omentin hormone as one of the modern biomarkers, clarifying its source of secretion, biological functions, and its association with insulin resistance. Furthermore, the workshop reviewed recent studies concerning omentin levels in women with gestational diabetes and explored the possibility of using it for early diagnosis, in comparison with the conventional biomarkers currently used for disease detection.
The workshop concluded that omentin can be a promising biomarker in the early detection of gestational diabetes mellitus due to the association of its low level with increased insulin resistance and the occurrence of the disease. However, there is a need for further large-scale clinical studies to confirm its accuracy and its application in medical practice.
