Background: Vitamin D deficiency/ insufficiency is common in different age groups in both genders especially among pregnant women and neonates where it is associated with several adverse outcomes including preeclampsia and preterm delivery.  

Objectives: To assess the extent of vitamin D deficiency/ insufficiency among mothers and their neonates and some factors related to it and identify some adverse outcomes of the deficiency/ insufficiency on neonates (preterm birth and low birth weight).

Subject and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 88 Iraqi pregnant women and neonates admitted to “Al-Elwiya teaching hospital for maternity” in Baghdad- Al

In their cross-sectional study, Al-Rubaye et al studied the extent of vitamin D (VD) deficiency/ insufficiency, factors affecting its degree, and the adverse outcomes of the altered VD status among a group of mothers and their neonates from Baghdad, Iraq. They found that 96.6% of the mothers had VD deficiency/ insufficiency compared to 86.4% in their neonates. Maternal VD levels and neonatal weights were significantly correlated with neonatal VD levels. We believe that the study results need to be revised. This is based  two points listed in this letter to editor

Objective To investigate the accuracy of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) E-cadherin and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) to discriminate periodontal health from disease. Subjects and Methods GCF samples were collected from participants with periodontal health (control), gingivitis, and periodontitis (n = 25 each group). The latter group was further subdivided according to stage (S) and grade. Periodontal parameters were recorded then levels of biomarkers were assayed using ELISA and antioxidant status by use of the Total Antioxidant Capacity Assay for E-cadherin and TAC, respectively. Results All periodontal parameters were significantly higher in periodontally diseased groups than controls. The GCF E-cadherin significantly increased

Background: The present study aimed to assess the distribution, prevalence, severity of malocclusion in Baghdad governorate in relation to gender and residency Materials and Methods: A multi-stage stratified sampling technique was used in this investigation to make the sample a representative of target population. The sample consisted of 2700 (1349 males and 1351 females) intermediate school students aged 13 years representing 3% of the total target population. A questionnaire was used to determine the perception of occlusion and orthodontic treatment demand of the students and the assessment procedures for occlusal features by direct intraoral measurement using veriner and an instrument to measure the rotated and displaced teeth. Results a

The study aimed to evaluate the level of MMP‑2 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients in comparison with that in remission status, and healthy subjects, and to find its correlation with hematologic parameters. This study included sixty newly diagnosed AML patients. Remission status was assessed after induction chemotherapy. The overall survival (OS) was determined after 6 months. The plasma MMP‑2 level was measured at diagnosis by enzyme immunoassay. Twenty‑eight healthy individuals were recruited as a control group. Plasma MMP‑2 was higher in AML patients than in healthy individuals (P = 0.005). The level of MMP‑2 was much higher in the M5 subtype than in the other subtypes (P = 0.0001). There was no statistically significant d

Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic rheumatic inflammatory disease affecting mainly the spine and sacroiliac joints. Since the copper-to-zinc ratio (Cu/Zn) indicates an inflammatory response, the change in ratio is expected to correlate with axSpA. This study compared levels of Cu/Zn in the serum of axSpA patients. Serum samples were obtained from 53 patients with axSpA divided according to biological treatment into cohorts A and B, and 28 healthy control as cohort C. Serum levels of Cu and Zn were determined first by a fully automated chemistry analyzer TC-Matrix Plus, then the ratio was obtained. The elevated serum Cu concentration means of cohort B (189.32 ± 13.808 µg/dL) compared to cohort A (168.85 ± 7.244 µg/dL) a

Abstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease with severe acute respiratory syndrome and first recognized in Wuhan, China, and it has since spread to the world, resulting in the coronavirus pandemic to 2020. The present study aimed to evaluate Molecular study of some types of vaginal fungi isolated from recovered women from Covid-19 in Baghdad governorate. The study was conducted on 213 samples collected between December 2021 and March 2022, where the number of positive samples reached 188 with percentage 88.26%, while the number of negative samples reached 25 with percentage 11.73% by taking vaginal swabs from various female patients in Al- Kadhimiya Teaching Hospital. Three of Candida spp. were isolated: Candida a

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is caused of 85% of all lung cancers. Among the most important factors for lung tumor growth and proliferation are the tyrosine kinase receptors that coded by the epidermal growth factor recep-tor (EGFR) gene. Activation of EGFR ultimately leads to developing of lung cancer. The present study was undertaken with an objective to detect EGFR mutations in bronchial wash from Iraqi patients with NSCLC before treatment. Methods: DNA was extracted from bronchial wash samples collected from 50 patients with NSCLC by using a Qiamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). Then, EGFR mutations were determined by using real-time RCR combined with two technologies, Amplification Refractory Mutation System (