Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a common chronic and destructive autoimmune arthropathy .Treatment with infliximab gives great improvement to a large numbers of patients with RA ,however, in some patients after prolonged treatment infliximab can induce anti-infliximab antibodies formation and result to loss of infliximab efficacy and active persistent disease.
Objective: to investigate the frequency of anti-infliximab antibodies in Iraqi patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Patients and methods: fifty Iraqi RA patients(36 females and 14 males) compared with 50 control( 25 healthy control and 25 case control (patients with RA on other treatment) ) were included in this study from begging of March 201

Background: Since the introduction of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors including etanercept, their efficacy and safety in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been studied in many randomized controlled clinical trials. However, data regarding predictors of clinical response to anti-TNF therapy are still sparse.
Objective: To assess the predictors of response to etanercept in treatment of Iraqi patients with active RA.
Methods: An open label single group prospective study was conducted over 15 months on 190 Iraqi patients with RA. All the included patients were given etanercept at a dose of 50 mg by subcutaneous injection on
a weeklybases. Each patient was followed at regular intervals of bas

Thirty serum samples of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis after screening of rheumatoid factor, C-reactive protein and ESR were collected and including in present study to detect the IgG antibody against Chlamydia pneumoniae by ELISA test. The results showed only 2(6%) patients had seropositive of C. pneumoniae, this lead to suggest that C. pneumoniae may be one of the etiological or trigger factor in patients of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the autoimmune diseases characterized by the synovial inflammation which causes organs and tissues damage especially synovial tissues and joints. The study included 50 serum samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) when compared with 50 serum samples from healthy individuals as control with age range 35 – 60 years (41.3 ± 2.4 years vs. 41.0 ± 2.0 years, respectively). ELISA technique was used to assess the Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide IgG antibody (anti-CCP IgG Ab) level, anti-rheumatoid factor IgG antibody (anti-RF IgG) and anti-Cytomegalovirus (anti-CMV IgG) antibodies frequencies in the studied groups. The present findings demonstrated that all RA patients have 100% seropositive fr

Seventy- four cases of clinically diagnosed Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), fifty cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and thirty healthy normal controls were investigated for detection of rheumatoid factor (RF), total serum immunoglobulins (Igs), antinuclear antibody (ANA), and ANA subtype anti-double stranded DNA (anti-ds DNA).
Patients with RA showed 58.1% positive for RF comparable with 14% positivity in SLE patients and 6.6% in normal individuals. Serum Igs (IgA,IgG) were found to be elevated in RA and SLE
patients (62.2% , 36.5%) (54% , 38%) respectively. This study revealed that ANA is found in 88% of SLE patients sera and 78% of these ANA is ds DNA in comparison with only 6.8% of RA sera wer

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity plays a central role in causing disability both directly and via indirect effects mediated through joint damage. Evaluation of RA disease activity is therefore important to predict the outcome and effectiveness of therapeutic interventions during follow-up. Clinical disease activity index (CDAI) is new simple tool for measurement of disease activity.
Objectives: To assess validity and reliability of CDAI in comparison to disease activity score-28 joints (DAS28) in Iraqi patients with active RA.
Patients and Methods: Sixty nine Iraqi RA patients were included in this study. All patients were fulfilling the ACR classification criteria and active. Full history was taken and comple

     Methotrexate (MTX) is still one of the gold standard treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It shows diverse outcomes in blood level and clinical response, this was demonstrated by its relation to the genetic polymorphism in the pharmacogenetic study. This study aimed to investigate the role of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphisms in relation to MTX efficacy and toxicity in Iraqi Kurdish RA patients. Sixty-four RA patients were involved in this study with an average age of 47.78 ±14.08 and female to male ratio of (8.1). Diagnosis and disease activity were confirmed. Blood analyses, including those of laboratory markers of disease activity, were done. The 28 joint disease activity score (DAS28-CRP) w

Background: Cytokines produced by inflammatory cells play a pivotal role in synovial inflammation and joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis.
Patients and Methods: The cytokine serum levels were measured by EASIA (Enzyme amplified sensitivity immunoassay) in sera from 50 RA patients, and 40 healthy donors. Cytokine levels were compared in different RA subpopulations (positive or negative rheumatoid factor (RF), long term or recent onset disease, high or low disease activity). In addition, the possible association with other demographic and clinical parameters (gender, age, etc) was also analyzed.
Results: It was demonstrated that IL-2, IL-6 and IFN-δ levels were elevated in serum samples of RA pati

Background: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a significant role in the activation of adaptive immunity and may have an essential role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objectives: To assess the gene expression of TLR4 in individuals with RA compared to healthy individuals. Methods: From July to December 2022. A total of 100 individuals were encompassed in the study, consisting of 50 individuals diagnosed with RA, of whom 42 were females and 8 were males, with an average age of 45.22 years. Additionally, there were 50 healthy control participants, 40 of whom were females and 10 were males, with an average age of 45.64 years. To assess the TLR4 transcript levels, blood samples were collected from each participant, and RN

Zinc, Copper, Selenium, Magnesium, Manganese, Chromium, Iron, Nickel, Cobalt, Vanadium and Germanium were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) in blood serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, (30) patients (14male and 16female) with age range (37-60) years compared with normal tensive control. The analysis of results showed that the mean value of concentration (Magnesium,  Manganese and Nickel) were significantly higher in patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to that of healthy, while the mean levels of serum (Zinc, Copper, Selenium, Chromium, Iron, Cobalt and Germanium) were significantly lower than controls. There were no significant changes in overall mean concentration of serum Vanadium in patients