The aim of this study is to determine serum IL-33 levels and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) .Forty patients with moderate activity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and forty healthy individuals as control group were enrolled in this study, age (25-45) years. Disease activity was assessed in patients by erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR),C-reactive protein (CRP) and rheumatoid factor(RF) .Also lipid profile(cholesterol TC, triglyceride TG, low density lipoprotein LDL-C, very low density lipoprotein VLDL and high density lipoprotein HDL-C), AIP, and IL-33 were determined in all subjects. The results revealed a significant increase in ESR,CRP and RF , TG, VLDL,AIP and IL-33,while is a significant decrease in HDL concentration in patients gr

Background: The present study aimed to assess the distribution, prevalence, severity of malocclusion in Baghdad governorate in relation to gender and residency Materials and Methods: A multi-stage stratified sampling technique was used in this investigation to make the sample a representative of target population. The sample consisted of 2700 (1349 males and 1351 females) intermediate school students aged 13 years representing 3% of the total target population. A questionnaire was used to determine the perception of occlusion and orthodontic treatment demand of the students and the assessment procedures for occlusal features by direct intraoral measurement using veriner and an instrument to measure the rotated and displaced teeth. Results a

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the clinical manifestation of acutely diminished coronary arterial blood supply. The rate of increase of intraventricular pressure during isovolumetric contraction (left ventricular dP/dt) represents the rate of change of pressure during ejection. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the rate of increase of intraventricular pressure during isovolumetric contraction (dP/dt) in assessment of left ventricular function in patients with acute coronary syndrome and its relation to certain clinical and echocardiographic features. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study is a cross sectional study including 50 patients with an established diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. The

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory polyarithritic disease
associated with remission and exacerbation with different immunological
features.Rheumatoid factor(RF) screening test was used quantitatively and qualitatively
using an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), RF-isotypes (RF-IgG, RF-IgM, RF-IgA) ,
Interleukin-18 (IL-18) and Interleukin – 18 binding protein (IL-18BP) were detected
quantitatively usingenzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Results indicated a
51% positivity in RF among RA patients and a prevalence of the RF-isotype (RF-IgM)
with the highest level at (41.6±16.3 U/ml) (p < 0.05) among other RF-isotypes at a
percentage of 85.5% , results also indicatedan elevated serum level of IL-18

Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of common hospital-acquired bacteria causing nosocomial pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and intra-abdominal infections. The aim of this study is investigating the Modulation effect of Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) against multidrug resistant K. pneumonia which was isolated from Respiratory Tract Infections (RTIs). The results of isolation and characterization of bacterial specimens showed that 20.81% of RTIs were Klebsiella pneumoniae. The strongest isolate showed resistant for most usable antibiotics selected. Simultaneously, ZnO NPs were produced by an aqueous extract of Green Tea leaves as a reducing and stabilizer agent. The Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectrum was indicated a successful produc

A 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

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative autoimmune disease mediated by autoreactive T cells against myelin-basic proteins. Cytokines are suggested to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of the disease. Among these cytokines is interleukin-2 (IL-2). Aim of the study: To investigate the association between IL2+166 G/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP: rs2069763) and MS in Iraqi patients. Serum level of IL-2 was also detected. Anti-rubella IgG antibody was further determined in the sera of patients. Patients and methods: Eighty MS patients (28 males and 52 females; age mean ± SD: 39.2 ± 16.1 years) and 80 healthy control matched patients for age (32.15 ± 16.13 years) and gender (28 males and 52 females) were en

Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used in this study to direct the attention toward increasing the efficiency of early diagnosis of breast cancer in clinical laboratories at Iraq using recent PCR-dependent protocols and investigate DNA polymorphisms in addition to the detection of genomic markers. Blood samples were collected from 12 diagnosed females with breast cancer (malignant) patients, 12 females with breast benign tumor and 12 controls (normal females). DNA was extracted and RAPD-PCR was performed. The results showed unique profiles of amplified DNA fragments produced in genomic DNA of breast tumors by an arbitrary primers of A8, A11, A12, A13, A15 and A18. Out of the 6 primers used, 1 primer produced mon

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is heterogeneous disorders originated from the abnormalities in the proliferation and maturation of myeloid progenitors in bone morrow. There is a clinical correlation between immunity engines and disease progression, but this relationship is not completely clear yet. This study was designed to assess the full immune response in Iraqi patients diagnosed with AML. Patients and healthy volunteers were divided into three groups: newly diagnosed untreated, under chemotherapy treatment patients and control group. A significant reduction were seen in C4 and IFN-γ levels in both untreated and treated groups with no significant difference between untreated and treated groups. On the other hand, IL-2 and IL-8 levels inc

Background: Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is an idiopathic condition aggravated by exogenous or endogenous glucocorticoids. Vascular deregulation in the choroid is a new hypothesis regarding central serous chorioretinopathy occurrence. The inhibition of choroidal mineralocorticoid receptors has a great role in shortening the duration of CSCR by inhibiting choroidal vasodilatation and leak.

Objective:  To assess the effect of oral spironolactone on subretinal fluid, central macular thickness and visual acuity in patients with acute CSCR compared to observation.

Subjects and Methods:  a hospital based, randomized clinical trial carried out at outpatient clinic in Ibn-Alhaitham Teaching E