The present study was set to demonstrate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis infection and its effects on patients with systemic  lupus erythematosus (SLE) through determining their serum levels of anti-dsDNA and IL-18 antibodies. For this purpose, the sera from 132 SLE and/or toxoplasmosis patients and 30 healthy women, were collected. The study sample was divided into four groups of SLE, toxoplasmosis, SLE coinfected with toxoplasmosis, and healthy control. Anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were examined for all the samples using ELISA kit. The results showed a high mean level of anti-Toxoplasma IgG among SLE patients coinfected with toxoplasmosis (104.8792±12.31585pg/ml) in comparison to that in toxoplasmosis patients (91.1705±12.577

Progesterone is highly used in pregnant women as therapeutic agent to maintain and support pregnancy. To explore the effects of progesterone usage allover gestation till 7days postnatally on mice offspring ovaries development and anogenital distance. Ten pregnant mice were equally divide into control group that was injected with sesame oil which is used as a solvent for progesterone and treated group that is daily intraperitoneally injected with progesterone (dissolved in sesame oil 1: 10) at dose 10.2 mg/kg (the equivalent human dose) all through gestation till7day postnatal then sacrificed and measuring the anogenital distance (the distance between anus and genital papilla). Histological slides were prepared, and Diameters of the ovary, p

A study of the effects of the discharge (sputtering) currents (60-75 mA) and the thickness of copper target (0.037, 0.055 and 0.085 mm) on the prepared samples was performed. These samples were deposited with pure copper on a glass substrate using dc magnetron sputtering with a magnetic flux density of 150 gauss at the center. The effects of these two parameters were studied on the height, diameter, and size of the deposition copper grains as well as the roughness of surface samples using atomic force microscopy (AFM).The results of this study showed that it is possible to control the specifications of copper grains by changing the discharge currents and the thickness of the target material. The increase in discharge curre

The present study aims to evaluate the effects of methotrexate (MTX) with and without vitamin A (Vit. A) on some biochemical parameters and histological structure in male rabbits liver. Twenty male rabbits weighing 1250-1480 gm were divided into four equal number groups. The first group was given 2 ml distilled water as control group. The second group was given MTX (20 mg/kg), the third group was given Vit. A (5000 IU), while the fourth group was given MTX (20 mg/kg) +Vit. A (5000 IU) in alternative days. Following four weeks of treatment, lipid profile total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), [low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)]; in addition to thyroid hormones tr

Various activities taking place within the city of Baghdad have significantly contributed to organic pollution in Rivers Tigris and Diyala. The present study aimed to assess some physical, chemical and biological aspects of six sites on Rivers Tigris and Diyala as they flow through the city of Baghdad. Monthly samples were collected for the period January to December, 2005. Marked differences in the physical and chemical characteristics of water were noted between the two rivers’ sites. Average values during the study period of dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, particulate organic matter, nitrate, phosphate and total dissolved solids for Tigris and Diyala were 7.8,4.7; 2.4,10.4; 350.1,921.4;7.8,13.9;1.2,4.8;814,2176 mg / l re

Background:The most common pattern of dyslipidemia in diabetic patients is increased triglyceride (TG) and decreased HDL cholesterol level, The concentration of LDL cholesterol in diabetic patients is usually not significantly different from non diabetic individuals, Diabetic patients may have elevated levels of non-HDL cholesterol [ LDL+VLDL]. However type 2 diabetic patients typically have apreponderance of smaller ,denser LDL particles which possibly increases atherogenicity even if the absolute concentration of LDL cholesterol is not significantly increased. The Third Adult Treatment Panel of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP III) and the American Heart Association (AHA ) have designate diabetes as a coronary heart dis

This study was conducted to determine the role of Phoenix dactylifera pollen grains suspension in improving reproductive efficiency of white male rats. In thisexperiment 40 adult male rats were divided randomly into five equal groups and by following oral administration:the first group was given Phoenix d. pollen grains suspension with concentration 18 mg/kg body weight daily, the second group was given 54 mg/kg, the third group was given 108 mg/kg and fourth group 216 mg/kg body weight, and the last group which represented a control group administrated distilled water only, the administration continued for 40 consecutive days. The effect of Phoenix d. pollen grains in reproductive efficiency was evaluated depending on some parameters such

A lot of previous studies are concerned with the evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity of medicinal plants because it considered cheap and are believed to possess minimal side effects. Leucaena leucocephala didn’t evaluate globally for its anti-inflammatory effect yet though some of it’s already separated and identified secondary metabolites were studied and proved to exert many pharmacological activities besides their effect on lowering the pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6. So, there was an interest to evaluate the biological effect of Leucaena leucocephala as a novel anti-inflammatory agent was the first motivation to start an in vivo study using a rat population. The N-butanol and ethyl acetate extracts were cho

Cisplatin (CP), a platinum compound, is one of the most active cytotoxic drugs used for cancer treatment. Nephrotoxicity is severe dose limiting side effect of this drug. Abnormal production of reactive oxygen species (ROSs) leading to oxidative stress has been implicated in kidney toxicity by Cisplatin. Here the study was aimed to evaluate nephroprotective effect of ethanolic extract of Terminalia arjuna bark (EETAB) at the doses (200 & 400 mg/kg, body weight) against Cisplatin (7.5 mg/kg, i.p) induced nephrotoxicity in rats. The evaluation was done by measuring % change in body weight, renal function tests such as Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), Serum Creatinine (Cr), Serum Total Protein (TP) and also Kidney SOD (Super

Background: Antioxidant, sedative, anticancer, and antibacterial properties are among the numerous pharmacological characteristics of Galium verum. Aim: The primary goal of this research was to investigate the therapeutic effects of G. verum extract against folic acid-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Materials and methods: 18 male rats were assigned into three groups:  Control, AKI, and G. verum. AKI was induced by a dose of folic acid (250 mg/kg, i.p.) while G. verum (250 mg/kg) was administrated for 7 consecutive days. Results: G. verum methanol extract contains flavonoids, anthraquinones, tannins, iridoids, triterpen