Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is a common form of noncicatricial hair loss of unknown cause, affecting 0.1-0.2% of the general population. Most evidence supports the hypothesis that it is disease of the hair follicle of autoimmune nature mediated by T-cells, with important cytokine role. Objective of the Study. The objective of this study is to study the association and changes in serum levels of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with AA in relation to the type, activity, and disease duration. Patients and Methods. Thirty-eight patients with AA and 22 individuals without the disease as controls were enrolled in this case-controlled study conducted in the Department of Dermatology in the Al-K

Background: Colonic cancer is a very common disease world-wide being fourth most common cancer characterized by abnormal proliferation of the inner wall of colon then taking full colon wall thickness then spreading to surrounding lymph nodes and tissues and finally distant metastasis. It is one of most complicated diseases with debilitating symptoms which becomes more sever , prominent and specific with advancing stage with high percent of fatality and relatively short survival if diagnosed late or if left untreated.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of serum CEA & sAPRIL levels in the diagnosis and screening of colon cancer and their validity for this.Patients and methods: This study was applied on 35 patients with colonic can

Fibroblast growth factors-23 (FGF-23) are a class of cell signaling proteins produced by macrophages. They have a range of roles, but they play a particularly important role in the development of animal cells, where they are essential for appropriate growth. Phosphate, which is found in the body as both organic and mineral phosphate, plays crucial roles in cell structure, communication, and metabolism. Most phosphate in the body resides in bone, teeth, and inside cells, with less than 1% circulating in serum. The aim of the study is to evaluate the levels of the Fibroblast Growth Factors-23 and phosphate and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) in acromegaly patients against healthy control. A case control study Fibroblast Growth Fact

The thermodynamic constanting of “crude and partially purified” Paraxonase(PON) was evaluated in the sera of “healthy and ectopic” pregnant women in order to characterize the reaction of PON with diethyl para-nitro phenyl phosphate as substrate.This study was performed on (17) women with ectopic pregnancy (EP) whose age between (25-55) years  and (25) normal pregnant women with  a mean age of (25 -55) years as  a control group . Samples were collected from the Medical City, AL-Yarmook and Fatema AL-Zahraa hospitals during the period from Sep.2011 to April 2012.The study included the evaluation  of “paraxonase activity, specific activity and total protein” in the (crude and partially purified) sera of EP pa

In modern hydraulic control systems, the trend in hydraulic power applications is to improve efficiency and performance. “Proportional valve” is generally applied to pressure, flow and directional-control valves which continuously convert a variable input signal into a smooth and proportional hydraulic output signal. It creates a variable resistance (orifice) upstream and downstream of a hydraulic actuator, and is meter in/meter out circuit and hence pressure drop, and power losses are inevitable. If velocity (position) feedback is used, flow pattern control is possible. Without aforementioned flow pattern, control is very “loose” and relies on “visual” feed back by the operator. At this point, we should examine how this valv

This present study demonstrated that liver was involved in 14 %of typhoid patients manifesting with hepatomegaly. Elevation of serum enzymes in typhoid fever was presumably of a muscular origin, while elevation of liver enzyme was relatively less common. This study was performed on 30 female patients diagnosed by ultrasound (US) of abdomen, with paratyphoid A, ranged between (20-40) years compared with 30 healthy control .Patients volunteers were treated with appropriate antibiotics for 14 days and investigations were repeated 2-3 week after completion of treatment. Patients had clinical and biochemical evidence of hepatic dysfunction. The spectrum of hepatic involvement included hepatomegaly , jaundice, derangement of various hepatic func

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with decreased antioxidant state .This study aim to investigate the status of oxidant/antioxidant in a sample of  Iraqi patients with RA and the role of peroxynitrite and its natural scavenger uric acid in them .This case-controlled study was conducted at Baghdad teaching hospital /Baghdad from December 2010-May 2011 . Twenty-five patients with mean age 39 years and 25 apparently healthy subject as controls with mean age 29 years were included in the study .Investigations include estimation of serum levels of nitric oxide (NO)  ,peroxynitrite (PN) , malondialdehyde (MDA)  , and uric acid (UA) .Serum PN levels were significantly elevated in RA patients a

Background: Assessment of function of the right side of the heart in cases of left ventricular dysfunction has been widely studied but the sensitive and specific echocardiographic parameter to be tested is still a matter of controversy. Right ventricular function is related to left ventricular function by ventricular independence so function of both should be assessed carefully. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of left ventricular systolic dysfunction on right ventricular systolic and diastolic functions and pulmonary pressure using conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography. Patients and Methods: Sixty patients (39 males and 21 females) with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction

Background: Multifactor affect the pathogenesis of thrombosis in solid malignancy; however, a significant role is attributed to the cancer cells ability to interact with and activate the host hemostatic system. [1] 

Hemostasis is highly correlated to tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis, modulation of these pathways reflects interesting and promising treatment options in the future. [1]

Most patients with cancer frequently suffer from chronic compensated DIC and have abnormal laboratory coagulation tests without clinical manifestations of thrombosis, which is a subclinical hypercoagulable state that can be detected by varying degrees of activation of blood clotting. The results of laboratory tests in th