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: Oxidative stress is a deleterious process that can be an important mediator of damage to cell structures and consequently various disease states. Exposure to free radicals from a variety of sources has led organisms to produce a series of defense mechanisms. The antioxidant ceruloplasmin is a copper-containing ferroxidase that can oxidize ferrous iron (Fe2+) to its nontoxic ferric (Fe3+) form. Ferrous iron (Fe2+) is extremely damaging because of its ability to generate toxic free radicals. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory oral mucosal disease of unknown etiology. Previous studies reported that reactive oxygen species may be involved in the pathogenesis of lichen planus. The aim of this study was to estimate the

Fibroblast growth factors-23 (FGF-23) are a class of cell signaling proteins produced by macrophages. They have a range of roles, but they play a particularly important role in the development of animal cells, where they are essential for appropriate growth. Phosphate, which is found in the body as both organic and mineral phosphate, plays crucial roles in cell structure, communication, and metabolism. Most phosphate in the body resides in bone, teeth, and inside cells, with less than 1% circulating in serum. The aim of the study is to evaluate the levels of the Fibroblast Growth Factors-23 and phosphate and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) in acromegaly patients against healthy control. A case control study Fibroblast Growth Fact

Background: Behçet’s disease (BD) is a disorder of systemic inflammatory condition. Its important features are represented by recurrent oral, genital ulcerations and eye lesions. Aims. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate and compare cytological changes using morphometric analysis of the exfoliated buccal mucosal cells in Behçet’s disease patients and healthy controls, and to evaluate the clinical characteristics of Behçet’s disease. Methods. Twenty five Behçet’s disease patients have been compared to 25 healthy volunteers as a control group. Papanicolaou stain was used for staining the smears taken from buccal epithelial cells to be analyzed cytomorphometrically. The image analysis software has been used to

Abstract:Leukemia is a cancer of early blood forming cells. Most of them are cancers of white blood cells , however some leukemias start in other blood cell types.Electrolytes have modulatory effects on several biological mechanisms in the body namely as stabilizers,element of structures, essential element for hormonal function and also co-factors for a number of enzymes.In this study serum electrolytes levels were measured in patients with acute leukemia (AL) disorders before and after chemotherapy(anthracycline, doxorubicin, cytarabine ,prednisone, vincristine and doxorubicin) during one month and compared with that of control group. Blood samples were obtained from (43) patients (28 males and 15 females) aged (15-55)years;juset before an

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a well-recognized cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic implications of the restrictive left ventricular filling pattern (RFP) in dilated cardiomyopathy.Methods: Patients with DCM admitted to Ibn AL-Bitar Hospital for Cardiac Surgery, Baghdad-Iraq, from May 2006 to August 2008, underwent a full clinical evaluation and Doppler echocardiography study. Patients were classified into three groups: Group I had persistent restrictive filling pattern; Group II had reversible restrictive filling pattern; and Group III had nonrestrictive filling pattern. Results: The current study was conducted on a total number of 80 patients with DCM, fifty (62.5 %) were

To study the effect of iron overload due to continuous blood transfusions on peroxidation products, such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and peroxynitrite, with evaluation of some antioxidants like, glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamine E, Ceruloplasmin, uric acid and albumin in thalassemia patients. Forty patients with thalassemia major, aged 5 to 15 years, were carried out in Abn-Alatheer Teaching Hospital in Mosul city, during the period from October 2007 to April 2008. They were on Chelation therapy with desfer­rioxamine. They were divided into two groups, the first one without iron overload (90,97±12.92), and the second one with iron overload (157.75±7.57). All the patien

Asthma  is a disease  characterized by hyper reactivity  of the trachea and   bronchi   to  reversible   either   spontaneously  or  as  a  result   of treatment.

In this study serum magnesium,  Zinc, and reduced glutathione  levels

were  meas ured  in  order  to  determine   their  levels  in  the  asthmatic patients and comparing  these levels with healthy controls.

Fifty-  four  asthmatic   patients  were  enrolled  in  the  study  and  had their pulmonary  function test, and the levels of Mg,Zn

    Interleukin-35 (IL-35) is a novel anti-inflammatory of IL-12 family member cytokine. High sensitive C- reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a marker of inflammation disease. This study was obtained to estimate the concentrations of IL-35 and hs-CRP in cardiovascular diseases Iraqi patients. The study contained 79 subjects divided into two groups, 47 (21 male and 26 female) suffering from cardiovascular diseases and 32 as control group. The concentration of IL-35 and hs-CRP was measured by enzyme- linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA). The results revealed that the concentrations of IL-35 and hs-CRP are increased in patients group. IL-35 is strongly expressed in human advanced plaque and hs-CRP. Therefore these two biomarkers cou

The impacts of the inflammatory process on neoplasia development were observed in many cancer, it has a great role in the etiology, development and progression of invasive colorectal tumors. This study was designed to investigate the BRAF mutation and assist the clinicopathological parameter in some Iraqi bowel inflammation and colorectal cancer patients. Thirty patients were enrolled in this study (15 suffering bowel inflammation and 15 having colorectal cancer). BRAF gene was screened for the presence of mutations using PCR technique and direct  sequencing. .The results revealed no BRAF mutation in position 1799 for exon fifteen in both samples of bowel inflammation and colorectal cancer. These results were confirmed previous arti