Introduction and Aim: The pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-39, a member of the IL-12 family plays a key role in the inflammatory response by modulating immune cell activity and inflammation. A literature search shows no study undertaken for the effect of IL-39's on arthritis so far. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of IL-39 in rheumatoid arthritis. Materials and Methods: This study involved 80 patients with rheumatoid arthritis registered at the Rheumatology Clinic at Baghdad teaching hospital. The patients were divided into three groups based on treatments received. Group 1 included patients who were not on any treatment for arthritis, Group 2 with patients on hydroxychloroquine and or prednisone treatment,

Background: Endometrial Cancer (EC) is the malignant tumor originating from endometrium cell (lining of the uterus). EC incidence and mortality have increased in recent years. Routinely used methods for EC diagnosis and treatment are histopathological tissue culture after surgery and postoperative radiotherapy, however there is still not enough efficient treatment for recurrence or progression of this disease. So, there is a critical need for further EC identification by new biological ways for the prognostic diagnosis of it. Objective: This study aimed to look for ways by which could help in diagnosis of EC before the hysterectomy. Materials and Methods: 55 patients with EC and 57 healthy women were involved in this study (up to 45 years)

Background: Salivary biomarkers, a non-invasive alternative method to serum and tissue based biomarkers and it is consider as an effective modality for early diagnosis. Salivary microRNA 21, a nucleotide biomarker, was reported to increase in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. This study was conducted to measure the fold change of microRNA 21 in stimulated saliva and to study its association with smoking and occurrence of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Materials and methods: A 20 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who used to be smokers was included in addition to 40 control subjects (20 smokers and 20 non- smokers health looking subjects). Stimulated saliva was collected under standardized condition. Salivary microRNA 21 wa

Objectives: With the advent of ongoing novel modalities toward the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/NEU - positive malignancies, the serious side effects of chemoradiotherapy have been minimized. Hence, this study was conducted to identify the patterns of immunohistochemical expression of the promising therapeutic target (HER2/NEU) among Iraqi patients with medulloblastoma in an attempt to provide basic histological information’s that would help in future clinical researches.Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, 42 formalin - fixed paraffin - embedded tissue blocks represent cases of surgically removed medulloblastomas were retrieved from the archived materials in a specialized surgical ho

The relationship between blood group antigens and peptic ulcer disease has been widely evaluated in the past, but only one study relating H pylori seroprevalence to ABO blood groups among Iraqi patients with peptic ulcer disease is available. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of peptic ulcer disease among different ABO blood groups in Iraqi patients, and we thought it was worthwhile to try to determine whether these components take some part in disease etiology. One hundred and six patients with peptic ulcer disease (PUD) (43 male and 63 female; mean  age: 48 ± 18 years) who attended Baghdad teaching hospital and Al- Yarmouk teaching hospital endoscopy centers were enrolled , and 238 control Subjects.  Fing

The qualified subjects for this study included 33 patients with benign and malignant oral tumors aged 15-75 years and 31 matched age and gender healthy subjects used as control. Proteins measurements included total protein, albumin, globulines in sera and saliva samples, and immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM, IgA) in sera samples of control and patients. Meanwhile, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) was used to differentiate between protein patterns in both serum and saliva samples among the studied groups. The gel was also stained for glycoprotein to evaluate as well the changes in glycoprotein contents. For total protein, the results revealed a signifigant increase (P?0.01) in both samples (serum and saliva) of patient group. Albumin conce

The prolactin hormone played role in the many autoimmune disorders. To determine the importance of high levels of prolactin in triggering rheumatoid arthritis, thirty patient's women with hyperprolactinemia aged (20-45) years old have been investigated and compared with twenty five healthy individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure the concentration of citrulinated peptide(CCP) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay( ELISA), antikeratin antibodies (AKA)and antinuclear antibodies(ANA) by indirect fluorescent assay IFAT. There was a significant elevation of CCP concentration compared with control groups (P< 0.05). The percentage of antikeratin antibodies and antinuclear antibodies was (20%, 10%) respectively, and

Objective: To find out the relationship between the bio-social aspect with cholelithiasis patients and
demographic characteristics in Baghdad city.
Methodology: A purposive (non-probability) sample of (100) patients, from (20-70) years old, who were
selected from patients who were admitted to hospital at preoperative stage, from Gastroenterology and
Hepatology Hospital, Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Al-Yarmook Teaching Hospital, Al-Karama Teaching
Hospital, Teaching Hospital. A descriptive study was carried out from 25th of June 2004 to the end of October
2004.
An assessment form was constructed for the purpose of the study. Test-retest reliability was employed through
computation of Pearson correlation coefficient.

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma is the most prevalent malignant neoplasm of the oral cavity which results from accumulated genetic and epigenetic alterations. It is not always inexorable and may be reversible if early intervention in the process can occur to prevent further genetic mutation and disease progression. The FHIT gene is a tumor suppressor gene located in FRA3B region which is the most active common fragile site, where DNA damage leading to aberrant transcripts and translocations frequently occur. The WWOX is a tumor suppressor gene that plays a central role in tumor suppression through transcriptional repression and apoptosis, with its apoptotic function the more prominent of the two. This study aimed to evaluate and co

Background: Oncogenesis in the oral cavity is widely believed to result from cumulative genetic alterations that cause a transformation of the mucosa from normal to dysplastic to invasive carcinoma. The p16 gene produces p16 protein, which in turn inhibits phosphorylation of retinoblastoma (Rb), p16 play a significant role in early carcinogenesis. A number of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family, HER2/neu, has received much attention because of its therapeutic implications. The aims of the study were to evaluate and compare the immunohistochemical expression of the cell cycle protein P16 INK4a and c-erbB2 (HER2/neu) in NOM, OED, and OSCC. Correlate both marker expression with each other as well as with various clinicopathological