Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells and cellular elements play a role. The treatment guidelines recommend theuse of a second controller drug in addition to medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) rather than the use of high doses ICS alone in the treatment of moderate-severe persistent asthma. This study was conducted to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of three treatment regimens in Iraqi patients with moderate-severe persistent asthma.The study included three groups; each group included 15 patients. Patients were administered beclomethasone inhaler alone 1500-2000 μg/day, beclomethasone inhaler 750-1000 μg/day plus oral controlled release aminophylline tablets 450 mg/day or

Background: Studies discussing the correlation between biochemical markers of bone turnover and the diagnosis of osteoporosis in postmenopausal Iraqi women are rare. This study is devoted to find out the significance of serum osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin (OPN) levels with the incidence of osteoporosis and its major complication (fracture).Objectives: to investigate the significance of bone turnover biochemical markers; serum osteocalcin and serum osteopontin in evaluating osteoporosis for postmenopausal Iraqi women with and without history of vertebral fracture, as well as to explore the relationship of these markers with bone mineral density (BMD).Methods: Fifty seven postmenopausal women whose ages are fifty years old and over, cat

Background: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) constitutes about 4% of salivary epithelial tumors and is the second common malignant epithelial salivary gland tumor involving both the major and minor salivary glands. Aims of the study is to evaluate immunohistochemical expression of Ki67 and p53 proteins in ACC. Materials and Methods: immunohistochemical analyses of fifteen cases of formalin – fixed paraffin – embedded tissues blocks of ACC of salivary glands using ki67 and p53 antibodies. Results: ki67 was expressed in 6 of 15 ACC (40%) while p53 aberration was demonstrated in 11 of tumor (73.3%). There was a statistically significant difference between the expression of ki67 and p53 proteins in ACC cases (p value = 0.041). Pearson’s cor

The present study aimed to investigate the acetamiprid effects on biochemical aspects in albino mice. Thirty albino mice at the age of 6-8 weeks and average weight 25±5 g were divided into three groups each having ten (10) healthy mice. The first group was orally administrated with distilled water while the second and third groups were orally administrated with 50 mg/mL and 100 mg/mL respectively of acetamprid (0.1 mL) daily for one week. LD50 of acetamiprid was measured and found to be 200 mg/kg. The parameters of evaluations included liver function using Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP). Lipid profile was anal

Background: The prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients is rising in Iraq. Adherence to medications among SLE patients remains a significant problem, and nonadherence can lead to decreased quality of life (QoL) and poor disease outcomes. Objectives: To determine the efficacy of pharmacist interventions in enhancing medication adherence, QoL, and self-efficacy among SLE patients. In addition, to assess the influence of pharmacist intervention on the uptake and willingness to take the flu vaccine among patients with SLE. Methods: A pharmacist intervention study was conducted at the Rheumatology Unit in Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Participants obtained educational counseling and a self-assembled booklet. Each patient p

Semliki Forest Virus (SFV), a member of the Alphavirus genus in the Togaviridae family, is a small-enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus. The virus is spread by mosquitos and can infect humans, resulting in mild febrile disease with symptoms that include fever, myalgia, arthralgia, persistent headaches and asthenia.  Virulent strains of SFV in mice cause lethal encephalitis by infecting neurons in the central nervous system. In on-going experiments in the research group using a focused siRNA screen we have investigated the role of deubiquitylases (DUBs) during SFV infection (as a model alphavirus) and monitored the effect of DUB depletion on cell viability after infection. We identified a group of DUBs that h

The biomarker significance of three chemokines (CXCL8, CXCL10 and CXCL16) was evaluated in sera of 45 breast cancer (BC) and 28 benign breast lesion (BBL) patients, as well as 20 control women. Clinical stage and tumor expression of estrogen (ER), progesterone (PgR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) receptors were considered in this evaluation. The results demonstrated that CXCL8, CXCL10 and CXCL16 showed a significant increased median in BC and BBL patients compared to control (CXCL8: 47.3 and 25.7 vs. 15.0; CXCL10: 37.6 and 30.7 vs. 13.1; CXCL16; 27.9 and 25.2 vs. 19.2 pg/ml, respectively). The increased levels of CXCL8 and CXCL16 were more pronounced in triple-negative and HER-2 positive p

Background: Computerized tomography scan can show the detailed anatomy of the nose and paranasal sinuses. The sphenoid sinus is a very important corridor for the skull base because of its central position. This sinus has a great range of variation and can put structures around at risk during surgery. This study aims to examine the variation of the sphenoid sinus, and its relation to other structures around it, in this sample of Iraqi patients. Materials and Methods: CT scans of 122 patients, were obtained, and submitted for examination and measurements, during the period between September 2020 and September 2021. Observation of The sphenoid sinus pneumatization pattern, clival extension, Onodi cell, and lateral pneumatization of SS.

Cysteine-cysteine chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) is known to play an important role with immunoregulatory and inflammatory activities in the formation of granuloma during infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. About 90 subjects, involving 50 patients with pulmonary TB and 40 apparently healthy individuals (as a control group) were collected from primary health care center\AL-Sadur city sector/ Baghdad City/ Iraq, and at specialized chest and respiratory diseases center in Wassit City /Iraq during the period from January 2019 to May 2019. The study was carried out to investigate serum level of CCL-5 of both patients and control by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and to determine the association between CCL5 genotypes with pul