Human beta-defenses (hBDs) are antimicrobial peptides involved in innate immune protection, and their association with the risk of respiratory allergy has been proposed. Therefore, this study sought to evaluate this association in allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma (AS) of Iraqi patients. A case-control study was conducted to investigate serum levels of hBD1, hBD2, hBD3, and hBD4 in 52 AR and 60 AS patients and 61 healthy controls (HC). The hBDs were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Results revealed that median levels of hBD1, hBD2, and hBD3 were significantly elevated in the serum of AR and AS patients compared with HC (p < 0.01). Levels of hBD4 were also elevated in AR and AS patients but the differen

mixtures of cyclohexane + n-decane and cyclohexane + 1-pentanol have been measured at 298.15, 308.15, 318.15, and 328.15 K over the whole mole fraction range. From these results, excess molar volumes, VE , have been calculated and fitted to the Flory equations. The VE values are negative and positive over the whole mole fraction range and at all temperatures. The excess refractive indices nE and excess viscosities ?E have been calculated from experimental refractive indices and viscosity measurements at different temperature and fitted to the mixing rules equations and Heric – Coursey equation respectively to predict theoretical refractive indices, we found good agreement between them for binary mixtures in this study. The variation of th

Background: Asthma is an inflammatory airway disease; this inflammatory response can be attributed to reduced lymphocyte apoptosis in peripheral blood and in airway tissues.
The mechanism behind this could be attributed to decreased Bcl2 protein and increase Bax protein in peripheral blood lymphocytes of asthmatic patients.
Aim: to explore the mechanism behind decreased lymphocyte apoptosis in peripheral blood of asthmatic patients at cellular level.
Method: Ninety four subjects; (44) control and (50) patients were included in this study during the period from (2003) to (2004). The aspirated lymphocytes for each individual
were prepared and stained by immunocytochemistry to study the percentage of antiapop

Background: Globally, breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women in Iraq. Several genetic and environmental factors are associated..

Background: Cherry extract has a wide range of biological activity. In the present investigation, two oral doses 0.04&0.08 mg/kg/day of cherry stick (ethanol extract) in albino male mice resulted in a significant decrease in concentration of serum total cholesterol concentration, triglyceride and total protein, albumin and globulin.
Objective: we investigated the impact of biological activities of cherry stick extract on serum cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, albumin and globulin in white albino male mice.
Design: This study include three groups of white albino male mice. The first group (G1) was a control group comprised of 5 animals. The second group (G2) consisted of 5 animals treated with 1

      The monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is one of the pro-inflammatory cytokines. It controls the passage and infiltration of monocytes, macrophages, natural killers, and T cells into the sites of inflammation. The aim of this study is to inspect the role of MCP-1 in maternal metabolic, physiological changes and pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and hypertension to develop pharmaceutical strategies for these complications. This study included ninety Iraqi women divided into three groups: thirty pregnant women in their first trimester as the P1 group; thirty pregnant women in their third trimester as the P2 group; and thirty healthy non-pregnant women as the control or C group. Se

Background: Nephrotic syndrome is an immune mediated disorder of the kidney associated with T cell dysfunction and secondary disturbance of B cell with changes in levels of immunoglobulin.
Objectives: The objectives of this study were to compare immunoglobulin levels in children with nephrotic syndrome in relapse and healthy children, and to assess relationship between the degree of albuminuria and the mean concentrations of immunoglobulin.
Methods: We studied 60 children with nephrotic syndrome during January 2008 to January 2011 in the Pediatric Nephrology consultation clinic, Children Welfare Teaching Hospital –Baghdad Medical Complex –Iraq. Urine protein and blood samples were collected from the 60

Background: Osteoporosis (OP) is a chronic and a progressive disease characterized by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue, resulting in an increased risk of fracture. Osteocalcin is a non-collagenous protein synthesized and secreted by osteoblasts. Its main physiological functions are calcium ion homeostasis, maintain the normal bone mineralization rate, inhibit the abnormal formation of hydroxyapatite crystal, and to be involved in bone remodeling through a negative feedback mechanism.
Objective: This study was planned to evaluate serum level of bone formation marker osteocalcin (OC) in postmenopausal women with and without primary osteoporosis; and study the correlation between serum osteocalcin level

Seventy exudative lymphocytic pleural fluid specimens of patients with suspected tuberculous pleural effusion submitted to the National Reference Laboratory of tuberculosis/Baghdad from October 2012 to February 2013. These effusions were due to tuberculosis pleuritis (n=12) and non-tuberculosis pleuritis (n=58). The following parameters were analyzed: protein concentration, glucose concentration, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentration and adenosine deaminase activity (ADA). As a result, the protein concentration was higher in TPE patients (8.80 ± 0.89 g/dl) than it's concentration in non-TPE patients (7.61 ± 0.54 g/dl), as well as LDH concentration was (3366.58 ± 284.28 U/L) in TPE patients and (3024.12 ± 116.84 U/L) in non-TPE pa

The research includes a clinical study of Preptin with other parameters. The normal value of preptin in hypothyroidism (2638.4±280.0) in female while (2960.4±256.6) in male, in hyperthyroidism (589.0±90.1) in male, while in female (993.2±103.9), diabetes (2465.6±282.4) in female, in male (2085.5±282.8), in diabetes & hypothyroidism (3314.3±177.3) in male,(3179.4±265.7) in female, but control group in female (427.8±60.4), in male (384.7±62.4) at age (20-45) years they were divided into five groups: group one (G1) consisted of 30 hypothyroidism. The two group (G2) consisted of 30 patients with hyperthyroidism. And three group (G3) consisted of 30 healthy group, four group (G4) consisted of 30 patient with diabetes, and five group (G