Background: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are said to be inherited in a multifactorial fashion, i.e. genetic-environmental interaction. Maternal nutritional deficiencies had long been reported to cause NTDs, especially folate deficiency during early pregnancy. More attention had been paid to the exact mechanism by which this deficiency state causes these defects in the developing embryo. The most significant of all researches was that connecting reduced folate and increased homocysteine level in maternal serum on one hand and the risk of developing a NTD baby on the other hand. Objectives : to determine the significance of homocysteine level in Iraqi mothers who gave birth to babies with NTDs as compared to normal controls. Patients, Materials

Background :The incidence of bile ducts injuries( BDI )has risen from) 0.1 to 0.2%( to) 0.4 to 0.6% ( between the era of open cholecystectomy( O C) and the age of laoaroscopic cholycystectomy( LC.) The aim of the study is to review the management and surgical outcome of the bile duct injuries in gastroenterology and hepatology teaching hospital .Methods: This study is Prospective, done in G.I.T hospital ,From January 2008 –to –February 2011, patients included in this study had prevouse history of cholecystectomy which followed by sign and symptoms of bile duct injures .Most patients have been reffered from other hospitals,supprting therapy were given to them and investigations performed to evaluate the the type of injureis ,minor inj

This study was established to investigate the correlation between the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-1) and the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). Blood samples were collected from 55 female patients with inflammatory OA and controls for estimation of serum (MMP-1) levels. In the current study, there is significant increase (p<0.001) in the mean of serum MMP-1 levels in osteoarthritis females (4027.73 ± 1345.28 pg/ml) than that in control females (798.76 ± 136.79 pg/ml). It was concluded that MMP-1 may be associated with the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis.

Renal function tests are commonly used in clinical practice to look for renal disease, the most common includes the serum urea, uric acid and creatinine. Heart failure patients have a higher incidence of renal function test abnormalities than individuals who do not have heart failure disease. Fifty subjects of adults (male) were divided in to two groups, 25 subjects (healthy) as control (group1) and 25 subjects with heart failure (group 2). Our results indicate that serum uric acid, urea, and creatinine values were significantly elevated (P≤0.05) in patients group (2) compared with healthy group (1). The results also showed, the effect of age categories on uric acid blood urea nitrogen and creatinine values (P≤0.05) and there were no si

Objective(s): 1- Assess the effectiveness of health educational program on nurses' knowledge toward Hemodialysis at Pediatric Teaching Hospitals.

 2-To find out the relationship between nurses' knowledge about hemodialysis and their demographic Characteristics.

Methods: The study was designed in a pre-experimental pattern for the nurses' working in the Child Welfare Teaching Hospital and the Child's Central Teaching Hospital, and a targeted sample consisting of (30) nurses was selected. It is tested in three periods of pre-test, the first post-test, and the second post-test. Participants were tested before implementing the tutorial (tutorial lectures

Thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxin (T4) play an important role in growth, development, and physiology of the kidney. The kidney has a central role in metabolism and clearance of these hormones as well as thyroid – stimulating hormone (TSH). Chronic renal failure (CRF) is a state of irreversible deceleration in renal function results in alterations in internal milieu, which affects the synthesis and secretory rate of hormones. To evaluate the thyroid hormone levels in non-dialyzed patients with chronic renal failure (CRF); 24 patients with CRF aged 30-70 years, mean±S.d. (48.458 ± 13.569) and 48 healthy volunteers who served as controls aged 30-70 years (43.104 ± 12.387) were studied for their thyroid function status u