Interleukin-35 (IL-35) is a new member of IL-12 family of cytokines, and its role in pathogenesis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been recently suggested. Accordingly, a case-control study was conducted during June - October 2018 to determine IL-35 serum level in Iraqi patients with chronic HBV infection. The results revealed that IL-35 level was significantly decreased in patients as compared to control (163 vs. 301 pg/ml; p < 0.001). However, such decreased level was more pronounced in patients at the age groups < 40 and 40 – 50 years (165 and 145 pg/ml, respectively) as compared to the corresponding age groups in control (482 and 234 pg/ml, respectively). In the case of gender groups, both male

Back ground: Viruses may be involved in the pathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM), either through direct β-cell infection or as triggers of
autoimmunity.
Objective: To investigate the presence of specific anti- viral IgG antibodies for Coxsackie virus type B (CVB5), Poliovirus, and Adenovirus which proposed to be
involved in the etiology of T1DM.
Subjects & methods: A total of 60 Iraqi T1DM children were included in the presents study. They were new onset of the disease (diagnosis was from one week up
to five months). For the purpose of comparisons, 50 apparently healthy control subjects were selected. Serum IgG against Coxsackie virus type B5, Adenovirus type
3, 4, and 7, and Poliovac

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the cause of the major world health issue, tuberculosis (TB). The cytokine, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) has been implicated in protection against TB in the early stages of the disease. TNF-α is an effective cytokine in the killing of intracellular M. tuberculosis. This study inducted to investigate whether there is any relationship between levels of TNF-α in sera of TB patients and their recovery, and is there any difference in the level of this cytokine in sera of female and male TB patients. This study included 29 patients with pulmonary TB (18 female and 11 male), their ages ranging from 37 to 59 years. All of them received first line TB therapy. They were consulted at Pasture Center during Septem

HBV and HCV are the major causes of chronic liver diseases throughout the world, and constitute a major global health risk. There is accumulated evidence that the imbalance of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine production may play an important role in the pathogenesis of viral hepatic infections and may influence the clinical outcome and disease progression. This study was undertaken to analyze the circulating levels of Tumor Necrotic Factor (TNF-α) and Th2 cytokine IL-10 in patients infected with Hepatitis B and C virus. The study population consisted of 30 patients with chronic HBV, in addition to other 30 patients with chronic HCV infection were recruited on their first examination at the Al-Kindy General Hospital in Baghdad

Reactive arthritis (ReA) is an incendiary joint inflammation that occurs few days to weeks after a gastrointestinal or genitourinary infection. The etiology of the disease is not well-known. Therefore, the present study included 80 females and 25 males, divided into 51 patients with reactive arthritis and 54 healthy individuals as control group.  The study involved the detection of serum levels of anti-rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) as well as those of CRP and C3 in all subjects. In addition, EBV levels were detected by Real Time-PCR technique. The results showed significantly increased levels (P < 0.05) of CRP, C3 and anti-CCP Ab in ReA patients’ group compared to th

Background: Periodontitis (PD) is well-known chronic disease affecting the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone, Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease with compound reasons characterized by synovial inflammation, subchondral bone remodeling, also the formation of osteophytes, that cause cartilage degradation. Chronic periodontitis and osteoarthritis are considered widely prevalent diseases and related to tissue destruction due to chronic inflammation in general health and oral health. The aim of this study is todetermine the association of chronic periodontitis and osteoarthritits in patients by analysing tumor necrosis factor alpha TNFα and high sensitive c-reactive protein (hsCRP) in the serum. Materials and Method: A tot

Background: Until today, the etiology of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) remains unknown, although hints of its etiologic basis lay on genetic susceptibility, infectious agents and alterations in immune mechanics.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible alterations in salivary tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and Immunoglobulin-A (IgA) level in patients with RAS and its relation with clinical types of disease.
Subjects and Methods: Salivary TNF-α levels were investigated in 50 RAS patients and 25 healthy controls by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Single radial immune diffusion method was used for estimation of IgA level in two studied groups.
Results: S

Background. Gene polymorphisms affect etanercept’s pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and side effects. This effect is evidenced by the extensive genetic variation in the drug’s targets. Objectives. This study aims to find the association between different genotypes of the promoter region of the TNF-α gene at -308G/A(rs1800629), -857C/T(rs1799724), -863 C/A(rs1800630), -1031 T/C (rs1799964), -806 C/T (rs4248158) and -376 G/A (rs1800750) and the side effects of ETN that occurred to Iraqi RA patients. Method. The trial included patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had been using ETN for at least six months. The participants were from the Baghdad Teaching Hospital Rheumatology Unit. The PCR was sequenced to determine the polymo