Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is a common form of noncicatricial hair loss of unknown cause, affecting 0.1-0.2% of the general population. Most evidence supports the hypothesis that it is disease of the hair follicle of autoimmune nature mediated by T-cells, with important cytokine role. Objective of the Study. The objective of this study is to study the association and changes in serum levels of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with AA in relation to the type, activity, and disease duration. Patients and Methods. Thirty-eight patients with AA and 22 individuals without the disease as controls were enrolled in this case-controlled study conducted in the Department of Dermatology in the Al-K

Background: Medical-surgical nurses are responsible of providing competent care to clients with a wide-array of acute and chronic health problems. This challenging task requires arming nurses with advanced competencies of health literacy to effectively educate their clients. However, evidence about medical-surgical nurse’s health literacy-related knowledge and experience is limited.  Purposes: This study aimed to determine the level of the health literacy-related knowledge and experience among medical-surgical nurses.Design: A descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted among a total sample of 177 nurses who were practicing in medical-surgical wards in teaching hospitals in Iraq. A convenience sampling method was used to sele

Background: Oocytes are susceptible to alterations in the various fatty acid contents of follicular fluid (FF), which may influence maturation and embryogenesis. Different fatty acids exert various effects on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which needs further studies to uncover the involved mechanisms. Objectives: To assess FF fatty acids in women undergoing ICSI and to correlate them with ICSI parameters, namely the total count of aspirated oocytes, oocyte maturation rate, fertilization rate and percentage of good-quality embryos. Methods: Fifty women undergoing ICSI were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. FF samples were collected during oocyte retrieval and were analyzed for fatty acids using gas chromatography. Fa

Background: Hypertension and osteoporosis are worldwide diseases with high prevalence; the study was done to estimate the correlation between hypertension and bone turnover in a sample of Iraqi postmenopausal women with hypertension and obesity. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 99 hypertensive obese postmenopausal Iraqi women (65 hypertensive obese and 34 normotensive non obese). The serum calcium (Ca), phosphorus (Pi), and alka line phosphatase (ALP) levels were measured as a represen tative of bone markers. Results: The results demonstrated that serum alkaline phosphatase is significantly elevated in the case group compared to the controls. No significant changes were observed in the levels of Ca and

Background: The insertion torque (IT) values and implant stability quotient (ISQ) values are the measurements most used to assess primary implant stability. This study aimed to assess the relationship between ISQ values and IT. Materials and methods: This study included 24 patients with a mean (SD) age of 47.9 (13.64) years (range 25-75 years). The patients received 42 dental implants (DI), 33 in the mandible and 9 in the maxilla. The DI were installed using the motorized method with 35 Ncm torque, When DI could not be inserted to the requisite depth by the motorized method, a hand ratchet was used and the IT was recorded as ˃ 35 Ncm. Implant stability was measured utilizing Osstell® ISQ. The secondary stability was measured after 16

Osteoporosis (OP) is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mineral density and deterioration of bone architecture, resulting in bone strength reduction and increased fracture susceptibility. Estrogen deficiency in post-menopausal women is possibly responsible for the instability between bone formation and resorption, which is managed by specific osteoclastogenic cytokines that may be leading to resorption. This study aims to estimation of the concentrations of interleukins −8, −17, −22, beside to certain parameters in blood serum and explained their roles in the development of osteoporosis pathogenicity in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods A case-control study included 108 Iraqi postmenopausal women participa