Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that involves autoantibodies attacking and weakening joints. RA is characterized by leukocyte (Monocyte, Lymphocyte mast cell .etc) infiltrations into the synovial compartment leading to inflammation in the synovial membrane.   Synovitis leads to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinases, chemokines, complement proteins, and growth factors. Objective: The current study pointed to verify the diagnostic values of interleukin -17 A and interleukin -18 in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and the effect of treatment thereon. Study subjects and methods: A total of 88 samples with RA were selected from the health clinics of AL-Yarmouk

In order to study the correlation between CMV infection and increase in blood pressure among Iraqi patients, 201 blood samples were collected including; 88 male, 113 female hypertensive patients and 40 control samples. Patients sera were grouped into patients who are under medication (T), and patients who do not take any treat-ment for hypertension(NT). Samples were tested for CMV-IgM/IgG by ELISA, ren-in enzyme and interleukin-6(IL-6) levels were determined by ELISA too. The opti-cal density readings difference for CMV-IgG were significant between (T) and (NT) groups as well as when each group compared to control, level of renin enzyme showed significant difference between patients group(T and NT) and between each group compared to the

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a collection of chronic, recurrent inflammatory illnesses of the gastrointestinal system, including Crohn's disease (CD). Infliximab is one of the biological medications used to treat CD. Therapeutic drug monitoring has evolved as a treatment in IBD, aiming to optimize benefit while meeting more demanding, objective end criteria. Objective: To determine the achievement of target trough level (TL), develop anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) to infliximab, assess response to therapy, and study TL relations with different variables. Methods: The present study was cross-sectional and conducted from May 2022 to November 2022. It included 40 CD patients allotted into 2 groups: group 1 patients ach

Background: Rituximab is a chimeric IgG1 kappa immunoglobulin that has been genetically modified to incorporate human constant region sequences together with murine light- and heavy-chain variable region sequences. People use it to treat rheumatoid arthritis and certain malignancies. Objective: The study aimed to assess the potential association between the serum levels of Factor I, CD59, interleukins (IL)-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN)-γ and the response to Rituximab treatment in Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the rheumatology center at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Ninety adult patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and are receiving  Rituximab intravenous i

Background: EOS (encoded by the IKZF4 gene) is a member of the zinc finger transcription factor IKaros family, and plays a critical role in Treg suppressor functions, and maintaining Treg stability. IL-6 is a soluble mediator with a pleiotropic effect on inflammation, immune response, and hematopoiesis. Aim: To estimate serum IL-6 level and EOS gene expression in Iraqi patients with psoriasis. Method: Twenty-two patients with psoriasis (8 females, 14 males) with age ranged 18-72 years, were recruited from Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Dermatology Clinic, Baghdad, and 24 healthy donors. The serum levels of IL-6 by ELISA and the gene expression of IKZF4 (EOS gene) by RT-qPCR technique. Results: The results showed a non-significant diffe

T-cell activation and alteration of cytokine levels are involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. However, the profile of circulating T-lymphocyte subsets and related cytokines during asthmatic attacks is still unclear. We compared the serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines Interleukine-18( IL-18) and Interleukine-12(IL-12), T-helper 2 (Th2) cytokine Interleukine-13(IL-13 ) and Immunoglobuline-E ( IgE) in 27 asthmatic children and 21 sex and age matched healthy control subjects. Serum cytokines and IgE concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum IL-13 , IL-18 and IgE concentrations were significantly higher in asthmatic patients than normal control subjects ( IL-13: median 9.73 versus 4.43 pg/ml, P&l

Background: The role of cytokines in cancer immunity and carcinogenesis in general has been well established, which play an important role in pathogenesis of many solid cancer. This study aimed to shed light on the possible role of IL-6 in pathogenesis of CRC and its relationship with serum CEA level.
Patients and methods: This study covered 50subjects. It comprised of 30 patients with CRC, compared with 20 healthy normal controls. Serum IL-6 and CEA analysis were performed by ELISA.
Results: This study revealed a significant elevation in serum IL-6 level among CRC patients (16.2 pg/ml) in comparison to that of healthy control (4.8 pg/ml) (p<0.001). As well as an interesting significant increase of

Low serum total adiponectin is associated with a high incidence of type 2 diabetes or coronary artery disease in the general population. Paradoxically, serum total adiponectin is elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), such as overt diabetic nephropathy. The current study aimed to investigate whether or not  anemia to be dependently associated with serum level of total adiponectin in  non-albuminuric male patients with type 2 diabetes . The study included 42 type 2 diabetic male patients. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin (Hb) below 14.0g/dL. All the patients were without microalbuminuria, to exclude diabetic nephropathy. The diabetic patients were divided into 2 groups according to the hemoglobin level in ad

Cytokines are a group of immunomodulatory proteins leading to a variety of immune reactions in the human; these cytokines play a significant role in the development of appropriate immune responses against T. gondii. This study aims to reveal the association of toxoplasmosis with serum levels of IL-3, IL-17A, and IL-27 in aborted women. The blood samples of patients and controls were collected from Al-Alawiya Maternity Teaching Hospital/Baghdad/Iraq from 2019 to 2020 for detecting anti-T. gondii antibodies (IgG and IgM) and the level of interleukins by ELISA. The results of TORCH by rapid test for recurrent abortion recorded 25.3% seropositive for anti-Toxoplasma antibodies, and 31.5% seropositive for one or more cases of TORCH test (Cytomeg