Thirty serum samples of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis after screening of rheumatoid factor, C-reactive protein and ESR were collected and including in present study to detect the IgG antibody against Chlamydia pneumoniae by ELISA test. The results showed only 2(6%) patients had seropositive of C. pneumoniae, this lead to suggest that C. pneumoniae may be one of the etiological or trigger factor in patients of rheumatoid arthritis.

The current study included the collection of 175 samples of blood (Urea-blood) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis from Al–Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital, Baghdad Teaching Hospital and Al-Imamian Al-Kadhimyain Medical City in Baghdad from both sexes with different ages at the period between 1/10/2016-1/2/2017. Bacterial growth results showed that 80% of urea for bacterial transplantation were positive results, while the number of samples showing no bacterial growth was 20%. The bacterial isolation evaluate for morphological testes and biochemical microscopy, as well as identification by Api system. The highest frequency of inflectional bacteria was E. coli (41.97%), followed by E. cloacae (21.25%), P. aeruginosa (12.5%), Salmonella (10%), K

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

Background: Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL)of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)patients have a property of phenotypic and functional activation. Glutathione S- transferase pi (GSTπ) has been implicated in playing an important role in the initiation and progression of cellular activation.
Objectives: To determine the percentage of cellular expression of GSTπ in the lymphocytes of RA patients in comparison with controls and to explore the relation between its cellular expression and disease activity pattern.
Patients and Methods: This prospective study included46 RA patients and 17 healthy controls. Blood samples were taken and from all subjects PBL were isolated and then smeared on slides. The cellular reactivity for GSTπ was determin

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a common chronic and destructive autoimmune arthropathy .Treatment with infliximab gives great improvement to a large numbers of patients with RA ,however, in some patients after prolonged treatment infliximab can induce anti-infliximab antibodies formation and result to loss of infliximab efficacy and active persistent disease.
Objective: to investigate the frequency of anti-infliximab antibodies in Iraqi patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Patients and methods: fifty Iraqi RA patients(36 females and 14 males) compared with 50 control( 25 healthy control and 25 case control (patients with RA on other treatment) ) were included in this study from begging of March 201

            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

The prolactin hormone played role in the many autoimmune disorders. To determine the importance of high levels of prolactin in triggering rheumatoid arthritis, thirty patient's women with hyperprolactinemia aged (20-45) years old have been investigated and compared with twenty five healthy individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure the concentration of citrulinated peptide(CCP) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay( ELISA), antikeratin antibodies (AKA)and antinuclear antibodies(ANA) by indirect fluorescent assay IFAT. There was a significant elevation of CCP concentration compared with control groups (P< 0.05). The percentage of antikeratin antibodies and antinuclear antibodies was (20%, 10%) respectively, and

To determine the role of Epstien barr virus (EBV) in the pathogenesis of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) , Reactive arthritis (ReA) and Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients, sixty-two patients (52 patients with RA ,five patients with ReA and five patients with AS) have been investigated. The mean age (47.3, 47.7, 34.5) of RA, ReA , AS respectively and compared to 24 apparently healthy individuals with the mean age 28.3. All the study groups were carried out to measure antibodies of EBV (VCA) IgG and IgM by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The result showed that there was a highly significant elevation ( p< 0.01) in the concentration of EBV (VCA) IgG Ab compared to control group, while there was no significant different (

Background: Pulmonary involvement in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a serious extra articular manifestation.

Patients and Methods: 82 patients with RA and 40 control subjects were included in this prospective study. They were submitted to medical history, physical measurements (height, weight and BMI) and spirometric evaluation for FVC, FEV₁, FEV₁%, PEFR and FMF (FEF25-75%).Objective: The aim of the study is to detect pulmonary involvement, classify the type of involvement (whether obstructive, restrictive or mixed), and to find out whether pulmonary system was involved in the early stage of the disease and is asymptomatic and to determine the as