Vitiligo is an acquired idiopathic skin disorder characterized by depigmented macules due to loss of cutaneous melanocytes. A potential role of the immune dysfunction has been suggested in vitiligo, so to test this hypothesis, certain cytokines (IL-17A and TNF-?) and immunoglobulins (IgM, IgG, IgA and total IgE) were investigated in all participants. The study included: 60 patients with age range between (6-55) year; 30(11 males and 19 females) were untreated and 30(12 males and 18 females) were treated with Narrow Band Ultraviolet-B (NB-UVB) and 30 (14 males and 16 females) apparently healthy control. Serum was separated and cytokines (IL-17A and TNF-?) and total immunoglobulin E (IgE) were detected by using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA); while immunoglobulins (IgM, IgG and IgA) were detected by using Single Radial Immunodiffusion (SRID) method. The results showed that the mean levels of serum IL-17A and TNF-? in both untreated and NB-UVB treated vitiligo patients were increased significantly (p ? 0.05) as compared with healthy control. The mean levels of serum IgG and IgA in untreated vitiligo patients showed non significant decreased (P<0.05) as compared to healthy control; while serum IgM and IgE levels were found to be increased, but the increase was statistically non significant (P<0.05). The mean levels of serum IgM and IgG in NB-UVB treated vitiligo patients showed a significant increased (p ? 0.05) as compared to both untreated vitiligo patients and healthy control, while serum IgA level found to be increased, but the increase was statistically non significant (P<0.05) as compared to untreated vitiligo patients. From these findings we can conclude that marked high serum levels of IL-17A and TNF-? in vitiligo patients clarify their important participation in the pathogenesis of vitiligo, also the alteration in the mean levels of serum immunoglobulins indicate the role of humoral immunity in vitiligo patients. Among the treatment options available in vitiligo, phototherapy especially NB-UVB was one of the safest and most effective especially in patients with generalized vitiligo.
Background: Prolactin is a hormone, as well as a cytokine which is synthesized and secreted from the anterior pituitary gland and various extra pituitary sites including immune cells under control of a superdistal promoter that contains a single nucleotide polymorphism -1149 G/T. Rheumatoid Arthritis has been associated with increased serum prolactin levels.Objectives: To investigate the association of the extra pituitary -1149 G/T promoter polymorphism among Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients and prolactin levels.Methods: We tested 73 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 40 healthy individuals. The DNA samples were genotyped using the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction fragment Length Polymorphism method and the levels of prolacti
... Show MoreObjective. Infection with Coxsackie virus. This virus that damages pancreatic cells, has long been linked to the onset of insulin-dependent diabetic mellitus (IDDM). Pro-inflammatory cytokines can be produced as a result of this illness. Tumor necrosis factor-a is one of these pro-inflammatory cytokines. Materials and Methods. Blood sample were collected from 180 Iraqi participants. Ninety of them is type 1 diabetic patients and other 90 is healthy control .both groups were tested for the incidence of Coxsackie virus B IgG. So the patients groups is divided to two groups according to sero positivity of CVB-IgG .all 180 patients tested to measure of level of TNF-α. Results. The Results showed increasing in levels of TNF-α in CBV po
... Show MoreBackground: Radioactive iodine-131 therapy is highly effective in treating patients with hyperthyroidism. An ablative dose is preferred by a number of endocrinologists, and, a fixed dose protocol seems to be better than a calculated dose in real practice.
Objective: To check for hypothyroidism in hyperthyroid patients one year after RAI therapy, comparing between the results of high ablative versus usual dosages of RAI-131.
Methods: This study included 174 hyperthyroid patients, 101 males and 73 females, divided into 2 groups, the first consisted of 162 patients given a usual fixed dose of RAI while the second consisted of 12 patients given a high fixed ablati
... Show MoreBackground: Osteoporosis is an extra-articular complication of rheumatoid arthritis that results in increased risk of fractures and associated morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Objective: To evaluate changes in bone mineral density in a sample of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients on biological (anti tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha) and non-biological agent disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Patients and Methods: A cross sectional study enrolled 60 RA patients diagnosed by rheumatologist according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (2010 ACR/EULAR) classification criteria for RA. Thirty patient on biological agent (anti TNF alpha) and 30 patient on non-biological agent (D
... Show MoreBackground: Anemia of chronic disease (ACD) occurs in the presence of chronic infection, inflammatory conditions or neoplastic conditions despite of adequate iron and vitamins storage. Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gingiva, periodontitis is the inflammation in the periodontium that extend deeper with loss of connective tissue attachment and supporting bone. The main pathogenesis of periodontal diseases and ACD is immune activation. Aims of study: Determine and compare the clinical periodontal parameters (plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL)). Evaluate the hematocrit (Hct) level, red blood cells (RBCs) count and white blood cells (WBCs) c
... Show MoreConsidering the expanding frequency of breast cancer and high incidence of vitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] insufficiently, this investigate pointed to explain a relation between serum [25(OH)D3] (the sunshine vitamin) level and breast cancer hazard. The current study aimed to see how serum levels of each [25(OH)D3], HbA1c%, total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) were affected a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer. In 40 healthy volunteers and 69 untreated breast cancer patients with clinical and histological evidence which include outpatients and hospitalized admissions patients at the Oncology Center, Medical City / Baghdad - Iraq. Venous blood samp
... Show MoreThe goal of this study was to investigate the protein peroxidation role by measuring serum levels of advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) in type 2 diabetic patients with or without retinopathy and comparing them to controls to see if circulating AOPP levels can be used as a detection biomarker for DR. And see which of the two widely used antidiabetic treatment groups had the most impact on this oxidative stress marker. The groups were divided into two subgroups: 1) 70 type 2 diabetic patients (36 male, 34 female), 35 with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and 35 with no evidence of DR, and 2) non-diabetic controls (11 male, 9 female) were chosen from Ibn AL-Haitham Hospital for Ophthalmology and a Specialized Center for Endocrinology and Dia
... Show MoreBackground: Dental implant surface technologies have been evolving rapidly to enhance a more rapid bone formation on their surface and improve implant therapy.Implant threads should be designed to increase surface contact areathat induced better stability. In addition, implant surface coating with Flaxseed was used to enhance bone formation at the bone-implant interface. Materials and methods: Ninety-six commercially pure titanium (CpTi) screws were implanted in rabbits' tibiae and divided into three groups as dual-threaded group, flaxseed-coated group and control group. All groups were evaluated mechanically, histologically and radiographically after each healing periods (2, 4, 6 and 8) weeks and the resulting data were statistically analy
... Show MoreAbstractOBJECTIVES: To evaluate the long-term remission efficacy and safety of isotretinoin in the treatment of Behcet's disease (BD). PATIENTS and METHODS: This single-blind, controlled therapeutic study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at Baghdad Teaching Hospital from February 2011 to January 2012. Thirty patients with BD were included in this work. Each patient received isotretinoin 20 mg orally once daily for 3 months. They were assessed at week 2 and then monthly depending on the Clinical Manifestation Index (CMI) and to record any side effects. At week 12, isotretinoin was stopped and patients were given placebo therapy in a form of glucose capsules for another 3 months. RESULTS: Thirty patients were tre
... Show More