Introduction and Aim: The pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-39, a member of the IL-12 family plays a key role in the inflammatory response by modulating immune cell activity and inflammation. A literature search shows no study undertaken for the effect of IL-39's on arthritis so far. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of IL-39 in rheumatoid arthritis. Materials and Methods: This study involved 80 patients with rheumatoid arthritis registered at the Rheumatology Clinic at Baghdad teaching hospital. The patients were divided into three groups based on treatments received. Group 1 included patients who were not on any treatment for arthritis, Group 2 with patients on hydroxychloroquine and or prednisone treatment, and Group 3 that received Enbrel® (etanercept) and HUMIRA® (adalimumab) treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. A control group was included in the study. Patients in all groups were assessed for their serum IL-39 concentration, C - reactive protein, Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (ACCP) and ESR. Results: The patient age and BMI were not significantly different between the groups receiving treatment for Rheumatoid arthritis. A significant increase in the interleukin 39 concentration was observed in treatment groups (G1, G2, G3) as compared to normal healthy controls regardless of whether they were positive or negative for the anti-CCP test. Conclusion: This study showed that the serum interleukin IL-39 levels significantly increased in patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis thus suggesting that IL-39 could be considered as a potential inflammatory biomarker of RA.
This study was designed to investing the drug prescribing pattern which is the important point in the rational or irrational use of drugs among patients dispensing their prescriptions from the private pharmacies in Maysan governorate, Iraq for a period of 1 month. The data collected from prescriptions were calculated and analyzed according to the WHO prescribing guidelines. The data showed that the mean of drugs included in single prescription was 3.4, and 12% of prescribed drugs were written as generic names; moreover, the percentage of antibiotics, corticosteroids and anxiolytics were 33.3%, 11.4% and 23.8% respectively. Those results indicate the irrational use of drugs when compared with the world health organization standard values
... Show MoreIraq economy suffered, nor , still many difficulties and problems , including oil derivatives crisis that emerged in 2004 and was the most prominent features of the inability of local production to meet the needs of the increasing growth of consumption, the crisis has cast a shadow on the growth of national in general, and citizen living in particular. Therefore, the real test of crisis and challenge to the capacity of government agencies to manage the crisis and control and reduce its harmful effects, which disappear in a region or sector, even begin to appear in another, given the multiplicity and complexity of third-party solution for remedying the negative consequences of deliberate.
The fish assemblage in the East Hammar marsh was studied during December 2009 to May 2010. The fish fauna of the marsh consisted of 17 native, 23 marine (49%) and seven alien species. The dominant species were Liza abu (14.6%), Carassius auratus (13.4%) and Thryssa mystax (11.2%). The resident species formed 44.7%, occasional species 36.1% and seasonal species 19.2% of the total number of fish species. Fish species diversity index ranged from 1.28 to 2.61, richness from 1.98 to 4.50 and evenness from 0.45 to 0.78. Salinity ranged from 1.45 to 7.74‰. The increase in the proportion of marine species (49%) in the fish assemblage due to marine waters progress from Arabian Gulf had an impact on the values of ecological indices and the
... Show MoreThe financial market plays an important role in influencing the economic sectors, including the private industrial sector, through the provision of capital and transfer from savers to investors for the purpose of establishing or expanding projects. Therefore, the financial market is one of the important tools in stimulating the economy in general and the industrial sector in particular, Through the inclusion of industrial companies in the financial market and the introduction of industrial shares to the public, and then provide the necessary funding to stimulate the private industrial sector, Iraq is one of the oil-dependent countries on the oil sector mainly, which lacks industrial production, which is from Are the sectors that
... Show MoreAbstractBackgroundLeishmaniasis is endemic in Iraq, where both cutaneous and visceral forms of the disease are reported.ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and to identify associations of CL with age, sex, season, and provinces depending on some demographic and climatic aspects.MethodsThis study is retrospective and includes reported cases of infections using the available surveillance database taken from the Iraqi Ministry of Health for the years 2011, 2012, and 2013 for all provinces of Iraq.ResultsMen and boys were found to be at higher risk for CL compared with women and girls. The majority of cases were recorded among those in age groups 5–14 and 15–45 years old. Most cases were recorded from lowla
... Show MoreBackground: The undergraduate students in pharmacy colleges represent a well-educated group of thecommunity according to the use of drugs and they are required to hold the appropriate knowledge of druguse and have positive attitudes toward health problems, this good knowledge about the diseases and theirtreatment will give good pharmacists in the future and this will reflect positively on patient knowledge, andtheir compliance with treatment, this due to direct contact of pharmacists with the patients.Aim: To know the knowledge, Awareness and Attitude of a sample of Iraqi pharmacy students towardsepilepsy.Method: Cross-sectional study used a structured questionnaire validated by previous studies to collectdata about knowledge, Aware
... Show MoreDiyala River is a tributary of Tigris River, it is one of the important rivers in Iraq. It covers a total distance of 445 km (275 miles). 32600 km2is the area that drains by Diyala River between Iraqi-Iranian borders. This research aims to evaluate the water quality index WQI of Diyala River, where three stations were chosen along the river. These stations are D12 at Jalawlaa City at the beginning of Diyala River, the second station is D15 at Baaquba City at the mid distance of the river, and the third station is D17 which is the last station before the confluence of Diyala River with Tigris River at Baghdad city. Bhargava method was used in order to evaluate the water quality index for both irrigation and drink
... Show MoreStable isotope (?18O, ?D) values were determined along with the chemical compositions at 10 different locations along the Tigris river between Baghdad-Ammara cities of Iraq. The physico-chemical parameters and isotopic data were measured. The sampling site represents 34 % of total Tigris river in the republic of Iraq. The systematically increased in values of stable isotope as move from the downstream of the river and the most significantly appears at Kut lake. This increase occurs as a result of several factors, viz. (a) evaporation occurs low water level in the river and its tributaries, and (b) return flow water to the river from irrigation water in groundwater systems. The change in ion distribution and in the isotopic values related di
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