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.
Background: The aim of this study was to determine phototoxic effect of visible blue light on anaerobic periodontal pathogens namely Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Materials and methods: Strains of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis were isolated from pockets of systemically healthy patients aged between 35-55 years old with pocket depths of 5-6 mm, the bacteria cultured on special blood Agar plates solid media, then subjected to visible blue light emitted from commercially available light cure devise (LED curing light); that emits blue light (400-500nm) of 1000mw energy at different periods of time exposures, then the CFU of each plate was measured by direct colony count
... Show MoreThe health care industry is witnessing an increasing trend in the use of generic medicines because of their presumed low cost compared with innovator medicines. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the performance of the copy drug Osveral®and its innovator drug deferasirox (Exjade®).
A prospective observational study including 223 patients receiving the branded medicine Exjade®and 101 patients receiving the copy Osveral®was carried out. Data were assessed for a 1-year period and included clinical symptoms, serum ferrit
Abstract Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a prevalent chronic microvascular diabetic complication. As inflammation plays a vital role in the development and progress of DN the macrophages migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a proinflammatory multifunctional cytokine approved to play a critical function in inflammatory responses in various pathologic situations like DN. This study aimed To assess serum levels of MIF in a sample of Iraqi diabetic patients with nephropathy supporting its validity as a marker for predicting nephropathy in T2DM patients. In addition, to evaluate the nephroprotective effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in terms of their influence on MIF levels. This is a case-control study involving ninety
... Show MoreThe present investigation is concerned primarily with sorting and identification of subfamily Tubificinae from River Tigris and some water surface in Baghdad /Iraq . For this purpose six study sites were chosen, including a Al- Kadhemyia drainage canal, North Baghdad; three sites on the shore of River Tigris; in addition to site in Al-Jaish canal , East Baghdad, finally the sixth site was from pond in Al-Zawra'a park , within the center of Baghdad .These sites were characterized by sediment rang from clay, silty-clay to silty with a percentage of organic matter ranged between 0.7% - 9.9% . According to water temperature, salinity and pH values, they were nearly identical in all study sites, the water temperature was ranged through the study
... Show MoreIntroduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a common protozoan disease in Iraq characterized by localized ulcers, primarily on exposed skin. This study aimed to investigate the hematological parameters of infected patients using a complete blood count (CBC) in the endemic area of Diyala Governorate, northeast of Baghdad. This has been studied in newly diagnosed, untreated individuals and patients receiving sodium antimony gluconate. Methodology: Hematological screening was performed on blood samples from 161 patients with microscopically diagnosed cutaneous leishmaniasis before and after treatment. Anti-Leishmania IgG was also assessed by ELISA in seropositive and seronegative subjects. Results: The newly diagnosed, untreated pati
... Show MoreIn the last years, a new technology called Cloud computing has been developed. Empirical and previous studies, commonly examined in business field and other domains. In this study, the significant factors that affecting the adoption of cloud computing have been examined using a frequency analysis that have been explored by the previous studies. The results showed that the most effected factors were relative advantage which followed by security and privacy, complexity, innovativeness, and external support. In this study the model of technology organization-environment was used to examine the significant factors that affecting the adoption of cloud computing.