Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in the promoter region of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene at locations -308G/A, -857C/T, and -863C/A with the tendency of being non-responder to etanercept.

Patients and methods: Between October 2020 and August 2021, a total of 80 patients (10 males, 70 females; mean age: 50 years; range, 30 to 72 years) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving etanercept for at least six months were included. The patients were divided into two groups responders and non-responders, based on their response after six months of continuous treatment. Following polymerase chain reac

Low serum total adiponectin is associated with a high incidence of type 2 diabetes or coronary artery disease in the general population. Paradoxically, serum total adiponectin is elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), such as overt diabetic nephropathy. The current study aimed to investigate whether or not  anemia to be dependently associated with serum level of total adiponectin in  non-albuminuric male patients with type 2 diabetes . The study included 42 type 2 diabetic male patients. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin (Hb) below 14.0g/dL. All the patients were without microalbuminuria, to exclude diabetic nephropathy. The diabetic patients were divided into 2 groups according to the hemoglobin level in ad

We have studied Bayesian method in this paper by using the modified exponential growth model, where this model is more using to represent the growth phenomena. We focus on three of prior functions (Informative, Natural Conjugate, and the function that depends on previous experiments) to use it in the Bayesian method. Where almost of observations for the growth phenomena are depended on one another, which in turn leads to a correlation between those observations, which calls to treat such this problem, called Autocorrelation, and to verified this has been used Bayesian method.

The goal of this study is to knowledge the effect of Autocorrelation on the estimation by using Bayesian method. F

Background: One of the most predominant periodontal diseases is the plaque induced gingivitis. For the past 20 years, super-oxidized solutions have be..

Background: Osteoporosis is an extra-articular complication of rheumatoid arthritis that results in increased risk of fractures and associated morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Objective: To evaluate changes in bone mineral density in a sample of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients on biological (anti tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha) and non-biological agent disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Patients and Methods: A cross sectional study enrolled 60 RA patients diagnosed by rheumatologist according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (2010 ACR/EULAR) classification criteria for RA. Thirty patient on biological agent (anti TNF alpha) and 30 patient on non-biological agent (D

Cytokines are signaling molecules between inflammatory cells that play a significant role in the pathogenesis of a disease. Among these cytokines are interleukins (ILs) 17A and 33, and accordingly, the current case-control study sought to investigate the role of each of the two cytokines in the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixty-eight relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) Iraqi patients and twenty healthy individuals (control group) were enrolled. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to determine serum levels of IL-17A and IL-33. Results revealed that IL-17A and IL-33 levels were significantly higher in MS patients than in controls (14.1 ± 4.5 vs. 7.5 ± 3.8 pg/mL; p < 0.001 and 65.3 ± 16

Background: Several infectious lung diseases often develop in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), especially during immunosuppressive medication, including disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The present study aimed to determine the role of respiratory tract bacterial infection in RA activity. Methods: Blood and sputum samples were collected from 31 patients with RA and 12 healthy subjects as control. The bacterial isolates were isolated and identified in collected sputum by biochemical tests and Vitec 2 system. Results: In the present study, thirty-one patients with RA were compared with 12 healthy subjects. Eight patients with RA were not infected with pathogenic bacteria (RA-NIPB) (25.8%). Twenty-three RA patients wer

Background: Polymorphisms in the TNF-α gene affect the development and progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Objective: To investigate the associations between (-806 T/C) and (-857 T/C) SNPs with rheumatoid arthritis severity and susceptibility in a sample of Iraqi patients. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Baghdad, Iraq. Twenty healthy controls and 63 patients confirmed to be newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis were included. Those are divided into two groups (patients and controls), and the patients were further subdivided into severe and mild-moderate groups. Samples from those participants were analyzed for clinical and inflammatory parameter measurements. Genotyping by the Sanger method was performed to stu

Background: Numerous epidemiological studies were conducted in Iraq, concerning dental caries and related etiological factors however; most of these studies were concerned with pre-and primary school children and/or those at index ages (12-15years old). At the time studies regarding older ages are very limited. This study was done to determine the prevalence and severity of dental caries and treatment need among high schools girls (16-18 years old) in Al-Mussayb city, Babylon Governorate. Thus, it can be considered as a base line data that allows studying dental caries among permanent dentition, also allows the comparison with other studies in other parts of the world. Material and Method: A total number of 900 high school girls were examin

Abdominal fat synthesizes a variety of adipokines, including vaspin and chemerin, that affect the resistance to insulin. This research was conducted to demonstrate the effect of pioglitazone, one insulin sensitizer used to decrease insulin resistance, on these adipokines in   obese patients with polycystic ovary (PCOS). Twenty-five obese women with PCOS were treated with pioglitazone 15mg/bid for 12 weeks. Modifications in fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum fasting insulin (FSI), chemerin and vaspin serum levels, follicle stimulation hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone (T), and in baseline and post-therapy were assessed. Body mass index decreased without any substantial variance after 12 weeks of piogl