Background: Gallstone disease (GSD) is a significant global health burden with variable prevalence influenced by metabolic, genetic, and infectious factors. Increasing evidence suggests that Gram-positive bacteria, particularly Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus species, contribute to gallstone pathogenesis through enzymatic activity and biofilm formation. Objectives: To characterize Gram-positive bacteria within gallstones from Iraqi patients, evaluate their biofilm-forming capacity, and analyze the relationship between bacterial colonization, gallstone type, and cholesterol levels. Methods: A total of 100 gallstones were obtained from patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy between October 2024 and March 2025. Stones were aseptically processed for bacterial isolation and identification using selective culture media and the VITEK® 2 Compact System. Serum cholesterol levels were determined by enzymatic colorimetric assay. Biofilm formation was quantified via the 96-well microtiter plate method, and statistical correlations between gallstone type, cholesterol level, and bacterial presence were analyzed. Results: Cholesterol stones (57%) were more prevalent than pigment (40%) and mixed stones (3%). Bacterial growth was observed in 43% of gallstones, with Enterococcus species (31 isolates) predominating over S. aureus (12 isolates). Species-level identification revealed E. faecalis (n= 16), E. faecium (n= 9), and E. gallinarum (n= 6), marking the first reported isolation of E. gallinarum from gallstones. Cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in sterile stones (median 235 mg/dL) compared to bacteria-positive stones (173-186 mg/dL) (P < 0.0001). Biofilm analysis showed all S. aureus isolates as strong producers, whereas E. faecalis exhibited predominantly moderate-to-strong formation, while E. faecium and E. gallinarum displayed weaker capacities. Conclusion: A significant interplay between microbial colonization and gallstone composition. Strong biofilm-producing Gram-positive bacteria, particularly S. aureus and E. faecalis, may facilitate stone maturation and persistence. The novel isolation of E. gallinarum expands the spectrum of biliary microbiota.
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)
... Show MoreInfection of the gastric mucosa with Helicobacter pylori is strongly associated with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. Helicobacter pylori virulence factors include a variety of proteins that are involved in its pathogenesis, such as VacA and CagA. Another group of virulence factors is clearly important for colonization of H.pylori in the gastric mucosa. These include urease, motility factors (flagellin), and Superoxide dismutase (SOD). Because of this organism's microaerophilic nature and the increased levels of reactive oxygen in the infected host, we expect that other factors involved in the response to oxidative stress are likely to be required for virulence. Superoxide dismutase is a near
... Show MoreTrigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is one of the most commonly painful cranial neuralgia characterized by paroxysmal attacks as short lasting facial pain along the trigeminal nerve branches. The aim of the present study is to innovate a biochemical relationship between (melatonin, GALNT12 and Zn) and TN and also to examine the biochemical action of tegretol (carbamazepine) as a treatment on the above biochemical parameters. Blood samples were collected from fifty four (54) trigeminal neuralgia patients diagnosed by magnetic radiation image (MRI). Patients were classified into four groups: G3 (40- 70) years composed of (12) diagnosed male (without treatment), G4 (48- 75) years composed of (12) diagnosed female (without treatment), G5 (34- 76)
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the duration of time spent by the student inside the examination rooms answering the all kinds of written ex-amination questions has some kind of a positive effect on the final score he will get from that exam. And if there arc gender differences in this respect. Students and methods: Data on the final examinations of the autumn quarter was gathered on 892 examina-tions conducted at the end of this quarter , this included male participants of 566 and females of 326. Examinations were on twenty different subjects , including all of the first five years of the undergraduate students of Iraqi College of Medicine for the academic year 2002 — 2003 . The scheduled time of the examinations was
... Show MoreBackground: The skin functions as a barrier to the external environment, damage to this barrier following a burn disrupts the innate immune system and increases susceptibility to bacterial infection. Objective: This study was carried out to determine the bacterial isolates and study their antimicrobial susceptibility in burned wound infections at one burn's hospital in Baghdad.Type of study:Cross-sectional study.Methods: The bacteria were identified at species level by using Analytic Profile Index (API) system and The antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed according to Kirby-Bauer (disk diffusion) technique.Results: Over a period of one year (from October 2014 to October 2015). Out of 848 patients with different degrees of burns
... Show MoreThis study investigated the prevalence of quinolones resistance proteins encoding genes (qnr genes) and co-resistance for fluoroquinolones and β-lactams among clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Out of 150 clinical samples, 50 isolates of K. pneumoniae were identified according to morphological and biochemical properties. These isolates were collected from different clinical samples, including 15 (30%) urine, 12 (24%) blood, 9 (18%) sputum, 9 (18%) wound, and 5 (10%) burn. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) assay revealed that 15 (30%) of isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin (≥4µg/ml), 11 (22%) of isolates were resistant to levofloxacin (≥8 µg/ml), 21 (42%) of isolates were re
... Show MoreA case–control study (80 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection and 96 controls) was performed to evaluate the association of an IL12A gene variant (rs582537 A/C/G) with HBV infection. Allele G showed a signifcantly lower frequency in patients compared to controls (31.2 vs. 46.9%; probability [p]=0.009; corrected p [pc]=0.027) and was associated with a lower risk of HBV infection (odds ratio [OR]=0.49; 95% confdence interval [CI]=0.29–0.83). A similar lower risk was associated with genotypes CG (17.5 vs. 29.2; OR=0.25; 95% CI=0.08–0.81; p=0.02) and GG (10.0 vs. 16.7; OR=0.25; 95% CI=0.07–0.91; p=0.036), but the pc value was not signifcant (0.12 and 0.126, respec‑ tively). Serum IL35 levels showed signifcant difere
... Show MoreBackground: Dental anomalies are abnormal tooth condition occurs due to certain genes or environmental factor disturb tooth development during morphodifferentiation stages, affecting group of teeth or entire dentition. The aim of the study is to evaluate the frequency of occurrence of dental anomalies among dental student. Materials and Methods: Three hundred dental students with age ranged (18-23 years) were examined clinically and radiographically searching for dental anomalies in shape, number and position. Results: Only 25 students (8.3 %) from the total sample (300) had dental anomalies, female form the higher percentage of anomalies (about 68%) compared to male (32%). The age group (22 years) which was the larger group had a higher
... Show MoreRoad accidents have been identified as one of the main causes of death and have a significant effect on public health challenges, economic growth and development. The Iraqi transport infrastructure has suffered from the effects of war, carelessness, and lack of investment. As a result, road traffic accidents have increased, and the current efforts to address road safety are minimal in comparison to the growing level of citizen suffering. The objective of this study was to provincially analyze traffic accidents in Iraq using data from 2010 to 2020 to shed light on the current situation. Three key conclusions were made from the results: first, people aged 35 years and under was the age
Road accidents have been identified as one of the main causes of death and have a significant effect on public health challenges, economic growth and development. The Iraqi transport infrastructure has suffered from the effects of war, carelessness, and lack of investment. As a result, road traffic accidents have increased, and the current efforts to address road safety are minimal in comparison to the growing level of citizen suffering. The objective of this study was to provincially analyze traffic accidents in Iraq using data from 2010 to 2020 to shed light on the current situation. Three key conclusions were made from the results: first, people aged 35 years and under was the age group recorded in the most traffic accidents; second, Al-
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