Background: Zinc is involved in a variety of
metabolic processes and it has a well known
antioxidant activity, so the measurement of its serum
level can have a special value in several diseases.
Objectives: The study is designed to determine the
serum zinc level in heart failure patients and to
compare it with that of healthy individuals and to
study the significance of the results obtained.
Methods: Atomic absorption spectrometer
technique was used to determine serum zinc level in
fifty heart failure patients and fifty healthy individuals
who were age and sex matched.
Results: The mean serum zinc level in healthy
individuals was about 45.5% greater than that of heart
failure patients. This diffe

Background: Dialysis is in common use to treat patients
with end stage renal failure .However longstanding dialysis
harboring some cellular changes in various body fluids.
This study was conducted in order to detect these changes
in urine.
Objective: The study was conducted to detect cellular
changes in urine of patients with longstanding dialysis.
Method: Fifty-three urine samples were examined
cytologically obtained from patients with longstanding
dialysis during 6 months period. Freshly voided midstream
urine samples were taken . Samples were centrifuged and 2
to 3 drops of sediments were smeared on 2 glass slides and
fixed in 95% ethyl alcohol then stained with Hand E stain
to be evaluated.
R

Background: Laparoscopic surgery for
appendicitis is now a well established and
advanced method of performing general surgical
procedures.
Objectives: To compare the outcome of
laparoscopic and open appendectomies in terms
of operative time, analgesic requirement,
postoperative complications, hospital stay, return
to normal activity and condition of scar.
Methods: This prospective study was carried
out from 1stMay 2008-1st January 2010, involving
110 patients (45 male and 65 female) with
features suggestive of acute appendicitis were
divided into 45 patients laparoscopic
appendectomy (LA) group and 65 patients open
appendectomy (OA) group, after taking informed
consent. LA was done with the

Background: The influence of glucose metabolism is seen in many infectious diseases, making  diabetic patients more vulnerable to sepsis and other serious sequelae of bacterial invasion such as UTI and vaginitis.Patients and method: sixty two patients (women) were suffering from GUTIs consulting Al-Elwya hospital from November- 2009 to March -2010. Two samples were taken from those patients (urine samples and vaginal swabs); these samples were cultured on Blood, Chocolate, and MacConkey's agar for isolation of bacteria.Results: The study group consists of sixty two women suffering from (GUTI), their ages range from 18-55 years. Thirty eight of them were diabetic women and twenty four of them were non- diabetic women. Twenty t

Introduction: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, that may be transferred from mothers to infants during pregnancy if it is left untreated. Method: This study was conducted among 65 women who suffered from recurrent abortions in Iraq. Syphilis screening recombinant (IgM + IgG) level by ELISA, RADIM (Italy) and rapid plasma reagin (RPR) (positive and negative results) tests were used to analyse the data. Results: A non-significant association was observed with age (p=0.989), and the number of healthy births (p=0.643). Non-significant differences were observed in comparisons between smoker and non-smoker percentages in the study group. The rapid test for syphilis confirmation was applied using Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) tests.

A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is defined as a communication between the left and right ventricles or between the left ventricle and the right atrium. VSDs are amongst the most common abnormalities of the heart. They can be present in isolation or in association with other congenital cardiac abnormalities. This is study done with the aim to evaluate the types, size, associated CHD with ventricular septal defect in children and adolescent in two cardiac centers (Medical City Complex cardiac clinics, Ibn Al Nafaes teaching hospital) in Baghdad - Iraq

BACKGROUND: Diffuse astrocytomas constitute the largest group of primary malignant human intracranial tumours. They are classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) into three histological malignancy grades: diffuse astrocytomas (grade II), anaplastic astrocytomas (grade III) and glioblastoma (grade IV) based on histopathological features such as cellular atypia, mitotic activity, necrosis and microvascular proliferation. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a 170-kDa transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor expressed in a variety of normal and malignant cells regulating critical cellular processes. When activated, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) triggers several signalling cascades leading to increased proliferatio

The present study was designed to shed light on the molecular effects caused by acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It was also aimed to investigate ASXL1 point mutations in newly AML patients as compared to healthy control. The study comprised of 43 AML Iraqi patients and their ages ranged between 16-75 years. It included 23 females and 20 males compared with 20 healthy controls. Results revealed that the extracted DNA from 30 AML patients and amplified by PCR to obtain ASXL1 gene from exon 12 showed larger bands (479). Among forty three patients, two of them displayed point mutations of deletion and substitution, while the others were normal since no mutations were detected. The total of mutations in two mutated patients was 27 mutations, the m

Background: Bowel cancer is the most prevalent digestive system cancer and is the 4th largest cause of cancer-related death worldwide. In Iraq, colon and rectal cancer (CRC) is the 6th most common malignancy in males and the 5th in females. This cancer is sluggish in growth, which gives a window of opportunity to screen for both precursor lesions and early cancer. The Cluster of Differentiation 47 (CD47) protein is a type of transmembrane glycoproteins found on nearly all human cells, including non-hematopoietic and hematopoietic cells. CD47 promotes CRC growth by triggering angiogenesis and apoptosis of tumor cell. Objectives: To evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of (CD47) in various colorectal samples from Iraqi patients

Background: Chronic kidney disease is a gradual loss of kidney function with diabetes and hypertension as the leading cause. Chronic kidney disease is one of these systemic diseases that can affect salivary contents. Aims: This study aimed to assess salivary immunoglobulin A, interleukin-6 and C- reactive protein in chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis and those on conservative treatment in comparison with control subjects. Materials and methods: Ninety subjects were included in this study divided into three groups: 30 patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis for at least 6 months ago; 30 patients with chronic kidney disease on conservative treatment and 30 healthy control subjects. Secretory immunoglobulin A, inte