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 clinic at Tikrit city from May 2019 to November 2019. Age, in both patients and control groups, ranged between (18-50) years, they had assay of Interleukin-1 (IL-1), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-10 (IL-10), Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, Leptin, Adiponectin, and C-reactive protein. The present study shows that (IL-1, Leptin, and CRP) levels were higher in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients than control, while (IL-6, IL-10, TNFα, and ADP) levels were lower; therefore, cytokines can play an essential role in RA pathogenesis. The current study may bring attention to adiponectin and leptin for their roles in the pathogenesis of RA. Special consideration was devoted to those proteins, which act on cells associated with RA, also for possible usage of these protein levels as potential biomarkers for the disease activity and therapeutic response.
The present study aimed at shed light on the association between HLA-class I antigens (A, B and Cw) and brain tumours (meningioma and glioma) in the basis of their individual frequencies or two-locus association A total of 52 brain tumour patients were enrolled in this study, with an age range of 7-68 years. The patients were divided into two clinical groups; meningioma (20 cases) and glioma (22 cases), while the remaining 10 cases represented other types of brain tumour. Control samples included 47 Iraqi Arab apparently healthy blood volunteers, with an age range of 15-50 year. Three HLA antigens showed a significant increased frequency in total patients as compared to controls. They were B13 (34.6 vs. 6.5%), B40 (15.4 vs. 2.2%) and Cw3
... Show MoreToxoplasmosis is a widespread infection usually caused by Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) parasite. It occurs in humans and other warm blooded animals, causing severe problems. It was found that there is an alteration in the trace elements concentrations levels associated with some human diseases. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the concentrations of some trace elements (Mg, Fe , Zn, and Cu) in the sera of 60 immunocompetent patients with chronic toxoplasmosis and 82 healthy individuals as a control group. Measuring the serum level of seropositivity rate of anti-T. gondii antibodies was done by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Kit, while the concentrations of trace elements were measured by absorption spectrophotometry
... Show MoreThe objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of aspirin, clopidogrel or their combination on different parameters in hypertensive patients.Platelets adhesion, activation, and aggregation are central to thrombus formation, which follows atherosclerotic plaque disruption and causes acute coronary syndromes. Aspirin and clopidogrel exert their antiplatelet effects by inhibiting thromboxane A2 production and adenosine diphosphate–induced platelet aggregation pathways, respectively. This study was designed to evaluate the possible effects of aspirin and clopidogrel given either alone or in combination in patients with essential hypertension on blood pressure and other parameters in addition to lipid profile using a randomized
... Show MoreThe practice of self medication is continuously increasing worldwide due to its important roles in curing minor conditions or symptoms. This study was conducted to evaluate the factors associated with self medication practice of Iraqi respondents residing in Baghdad City. This study was designed as cross sectional study in which data was collected via direct interviews with respondents using a previously prepared questionnaire. This study investigated 348 respondents from different age groups. The majority of respondents were male aged between 30-60 years, married with secondary or academic level of education and employed with accepted monthly income. The main reason for practicing self medication was previous experience with the same condi
... Show MoreBackground: Oxidative stress may contribute to the etiology of hypertension in humans. Oxidative stress is an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense mechanisms, causing damage to biological macromolecules and dysregulation of normal metabolism and physiology. Amlodipine as an antihypertensive agent is a long-acting calcium channel blocker that dilates blood vessels and improves blood flow. The aim of this study was to assess the oxidative stress in hypertensive patients on Amlodipine treatment through the assessment of salivary Malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) as a marker of oxidative stress.
Mat
... Show MoreBackground Several studies have addressed the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), among Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients in different countries, and the potential association between the infection and PD; the results of these studies were conflicting. The study aims to investigate the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection among sample of Iraqi PD patients. Also, to examine the potential association of age, PD duration, gender, smoking habit, zone of residence and family history of PD, with the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in PD patients.
Patients and Methods Seventy-four PD patients attaining Dr. Saad Al-Witry Neuroscience Hospital in Baghdad/ Ir
... Show MoreBackground:SARS-CoV-2 infection has caused a global pandemic that continues to negatively impact human health. A large group of microbial domains including bacteria co-evolved and interacted in complex molecular pathogenesis along with SARS-CoV-2. Evidence suggests that periodontal disease bacteria are involved in COVID-19, and are associated with chronic inflammatory systemic diseases. This study was performed to investigate the association between bacterial loads of Porphyromonas gingivalis and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Fifty patients with confirmed COVID-19 by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, their age ranges between 20-76 years, and 35 healthy volunteers (matched accordingly with age and sex to th
... Show MoreBackground: disturbed physiological rhythm of blood pressure in preeclampsia is a common finding. The role of oxidative stress in pathogenesis of preeclampsia is well accepted. Melatonin is a powerful free radical scavenger so it's rapidly consumed by enhanced reactive oxygen species in preeclampsia causing non-dipping in blood pressure.Objective: To evaluate the change in plasma melatonin levels in patients with preeclampsia and its relationship with blood pressure.Patients and methods: In this prospective case control study a total of 40 primigravidae pregnant women were recruited during the period of 11 months between August 2015 and August 2016 in Baghdad teaching hospital, medical city, Iraq, divided into two groups:First group
... Show MoreBackground: It is well known that oral carriage
of Candida species increase in many situations, like
obesity, debility, leukemia, viral infection, use of
certain drugs in addition to diabetes mellitus.
Objective: find the relation between diabetes and
its control on oral carriage of Candida.
Methods: Thirty four hundred oral swabs from
diabetic patients 67% are females and 33% are
males, 41.7% are type 1 diabetes and 58.3% are type
2.different culture media are used.
Results: we found that 37.9% of diabetics had oral
carriage, older age group had more but the
difference is not significant statistically P>0.05, in
addition females carry more Candida than males
P<0.05, while type of diabetes