Background: Anti-RA33 antibodies and anti-CCP antibodies are highly specific markers for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but are not detectable in all RA patients.

Anti-RA33 antibodies are directed to the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2 (hnRNP-A2),while anti-CCP antibodies are directed to modified epitope on proteins that undergo conversion of amino acid arginine to citrullin by citrullination.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to show the correlation between anti-RA33 antibodies, anti-CCP antibodies and rheumatoid factor (RF) in terms of sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in Iraqi patients.

Subjects and methods: This s

            Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systematic autoimmune disorder with chronic inflammation changes of unknown etiology. Various synovial inflammatory and proliferative alterations may contribute to the cartilaginous tissues and invasive bony tissues, leading to destructive joints and malformed bones. This disease is mostly due to infective microorganisms or genetic susceptibility causing immune system disturbances through triggering both T-cells and B-cells. Furthermore, different immune cells may secret cytokines, which are responsible for some RA pathogenesis activity. From ninety individuals, serum sample was collected; thirty of them were normal and sixty cases were patients with RA attended a privet medical clin

Back ground:-Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most common forms of inflammatory polyarthritis, with a  prevalence of approximately 0.8% of adults worldwide, Rheumatoid arthritis patients may become disabled within few years if untreated that may lead to permanent disability. Different biomarkers have been assessed for the improved diagnosis of Rheumatoid arthritis, including a wide range of autoantibodies. However, only rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (ACCP) have gained wide acceptance.

Aim of the study to investigate the levels of ACCP, Leptin, and Lipoprotein (a) in females with RA to provide information on possible pathophysiologic mechanisms, and to give re

Objectives: Severe head injury is the most devastating neurosurgical condition and it is only next to cancers as the leading cause of death in developed countries.
Because trace elements (TEs) are involved in most of enzymes that drives the biochemical reactions, so they are considered as a window to the biochemical
environment of the body in general and in brain in specific. 
Aim of the Study: This study measured six TEs (Fe, Zn, Mg, Cu, Mn and Co) in 29 patients with severe head injury (GCS Score 3-9); their ages between 5-50 years.
Collection and estimation performed at both Neurosurgical Hospital (NH) in Baghdad and Medical Research Center (MRC) of College of Medicine, Kadhimiyah between Janu

      Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory condition causing joint pain and stiffness, with often debilitating and life-limiting consequences. Recently, a new B-cell secreted cytokine, IL-39, was identified in mice. The most up-to-date research indicates that although IL-39 is expressed in murine models of lupus and has a role in mediating the inflammatory response in this context, there is no solid, replicated evidence of the existence of IL-39 in humans. This study aimed to clarify the existence and role of IL-39 in the human body and to elucidate whether it plays a role in rheumatoid arthritis. Accordingly, serum samples were collected from 66 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were under therapy and from 66 healthy c

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is heterogenous syndrome. Because the diversity of disease processes and formation of complex lymphoid microstructures that indicate the multiple T cell activation pathways are involved .affected patients have major abnormalities in the T cell pool with clonally expanded CD4  + T cell that lose expression of the CD28null molecule and lack the ability for profiliration. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is an indicator of the proliferation and differenation of lymphocyte, in particularly the T cell subcells.
Patients and Methods: Total ADA levels were measured in the sera of RA patients and healthy group according to Giusti (1981).
Results: The mean value of ADA was lo

Background: Extensive reports denote the biological role of trace elements (Cu Zn ", Se ') in many various physiological and pathological conditions, one of the list is shown to be Behcet's disease (BD).The aim of this study was directed towards the distribution of trace elements (Cu 2,Zn, 2,Se 2) in sera of BD patients, and control groups.
Methods: Fifty Arab Iraqi patients who fulfdled the ISO criteria for diagnosis BD.compared with 21 patients control with recurrent oral ulcer (ROU), healthy control groups (2Ihealthy relative and 21healthy volunteer). Typing HLA Class I was carried out at Alkarama hospital, by using microlympho-cytotoxicity test. The concentrations of serum Cu ', Zn ", and Se" were determined by atomic absorption s

It was aimed to understand the interleukin-4 (IL-4) role in etio-pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Two approaches were adopted. In the first one, a quantitative expression of IL4 gene was assessed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and such findings were correlated with some demographic, clinical and laboratory parameters, which included gender, duration of disease, disease activity score (DAS-28), rheumatoid factors (RFs), C-reactive protein (CRP) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (ACCP) antibodies. In the second approach, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL4 gene (rs2243250) was inspected by DNA sequencing using specific primers. Fifty-one Iraqi RA patients (22 males and 29 fem

     Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflamed chronic autoimmune disease in which genetics and environment are the most common causative factors. Peptidyl arginine deiminase type IV (PADI4) is an enzyme responsible for the posttranslational conversion of arginine residues into citrulline. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a specific technique was used to determine gene polymorphism. One hundred twenty three patients molecularly confirmed with RA and sixty healthy control subjects were recruited. By applying the logistic regression analysis, some alleles and genotypes were associated with susceptibility to RA. Under the allelic model, C allele frequency was significantly increased in RA patients compared

Cytokines play a prominent role in etiology and pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and one of these cytokines is interleukin-1β (IL-1β). The association between IL1B gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP: rs16944) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a sample of Iraqi patients was investigated. Fifty-one RA patients (21 males and 30 females) were enrolled and their age range was 20 - 63 years (44.9 ± 1.5 years). In addition to patients, 45 apparently healthy control subjects were also enrolled in the study. They matched patients for ethnicity (Iraqis), gender (14 males and 31 females) and age (41.3 ± 1.3 years). Analysis of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in RA patients and controls revealed that the IL1B ge