Background: Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) is the most common painful oral mucosal disease, affecting approximately 20% of the population. RAS presents with a wide spectrum of severity ranging from a minor nuisance to complete debility. Many of factors thought to have been involved in its etiology; that might have at the same time a direct or indirect impact upon oxidant/antioxidant system and trigger free radicals production. The aim of this study was to determine the possible association of oxidant/total antioxidant status and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Subjects, materials and methods: The study consisted of thirty patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis and thirty healthy controls from which saliva and blood samples we

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of respiratory airways characterized by distinctive history of respiratory symptoms due to variable airflow obstruction which reverses either spontaneously or in response to certain medications. Acetylcholine is a parasympathetic neurotransmitter which plays fundamental roles in the development of persistent asthma. Treatment guidelines recommend using medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids in addition to another controller bronchodilator instead of using high doses inhaled steroid alone for treatment of moderate to severe persistent asthma. The inhaled long acting muscarinic antagonist, tiotropium, was approved recently to control unresponsive asthma to inhaled corticosteroid with or without a long

Social determinants of health (SDH) profoundly influence diabetes outcomes; nevertheless, their impact on the Iraqi diabetic population remains under researched. The objectives of this study were To investigate the relationship between particular social determinants of health (SDH) variables namely food and housing insecurity, social support, income, and education and clinical outcomes, including HbA1c levels, medication adherence, and patient satisfaction among Iraqi diabetic patients. A cross-sectional study involving 212 diabetic patients in Iraq was conducted. Participants attending a healthcare facility in Iraq filled out validated questionnaires regarding social determinants of health, medication adherence, and satisfaction. HbA1c rea

Background: Hyperthyroidism refers to overactive of thyroid gland leading to excessive synthesis of thyroid hormones and accelerated metabolism in the peripheral tissue. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate a new member of the IL-1 super family of cytokines interleukin-33(IL-33) levels in serum .in order to evaluate its utility as clinical bio marker of autoimmune disease (i.e. hyperthyroidism) Methods: The present study was conducted on 30 patients from the Iraqi female patients with hyperthyroidism attending Baghdad teaching hospital, in addition to 30 healthy controls. All subjects were (35-65) years old. Parameters measured in the sera of patients and healthy groups, were interleukin -33 (IL-33), Thyroxin (T4), Thyroxin (T3)

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, progressive, inflammatory autoimmune disease of unidentified etiology, associated with articular, extra-articular and systemic manifestation that require long-standing treatment. Taking patient’s beliefs about the prescribed medication in consideration had been shown to be an essential factor that affects adherence of the patient in whom having positive beliefs is an essential for better adherence. The purpose of the current study was to measure beliefs about medicines among a sample of Iraqi patients with Rheumatoid arthritis and to determine possible association between this belief and some patient-certain factors. This study is a cross-sectional study carried out on 250 already diagnosed rheumatoid

The nature and intensity of the association of myasthenia gravis (MG) with distinct human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes differ between ethnic populations, so this study determined the association of HLA class II antigens with myasthenia gravis (MG) in Iraq.The study included Iraqi patients diagnosed with MG and two control groups the first of 54 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients and the second of 237 subjects as a normal control group. The test used was microlymphocytotoxicity test.The work was done in the Teaching Laboratories/Medical City/Baghdad.Results: positive associations were observed (etiological risk factors) as follows: 1. HLA-DR locus showed one positively associated allele when compared to healthy control and th

Background: Although the issue of anemia after renal transplantation (RT) has received increasing attention lately, the data on the exact prevalence of post-transplantation anemia (PTA) in the Iraqi patients are limited. Objective: In this study we sought to determine the prevalence of PTA among Iraqi patients and to correlate the renal allograft function measurements and the use of immunosuppressant with the prevalence of anemia. Patients and Methods: One hundred and twelve (74 male, 38 female) kidney transplant recipients (KTR) attending the kidney transplant center at surgical specialties hospital were studied. All patients were on maintenance, combined immunosuppressive therapy. The renal function tests [blood urea, serum cre