Schizophrenia (SZ) is severe mental disorder and characterized by fundamental disturbances in thinking, perception and emotions. Immune deregulation has been postulated to be one of the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This study hypothesized that interleukins would have a link with schizophrenia patients. The serum IL-2 and IL-10 levels were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in schizophrenia patients (n=60) and healthy controls (n = 30). The results showed that serum IL-2 and IL-10 levels were significantly different among schizophrenia patients. The observations indicate a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in schizophrenic patients serum levels of IL-2 compared with healthy control. Whereas

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic synovial inflammation. The insufficient immune clearance of the apoptotic cell results into the formation of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies which may play a critical role in the initiations of inflammatory responses. These antibodies together with Matrix Metalloproteinase-3 play an important role in joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis disease.
Objectives: to study the value of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, and Matrix Metalloproteinase-3 in differentiation between active and inactive rheumatoid arthritis.
Patients and Methods: A cross- sectional study was conducted on 60 Iraqi patients with rheumatoid arthritis (16

Background: Neudesin is a peptide secreted in brain and adipose tissues that has neural and metabolic functions. Its role as regulator of energy expenditure leads to assumption that its level may be regulated depending on thyroid gland pathology. Objective: This study aimed to investigate serum neudesin levels in patients with thyroidism and to evaluate1 any possible relationship between plasma neudesin levels and thyroid hormone levels. Methods: The study included 100 women with newly diagnosed thyroidisim were subdivided into two groups: hyperthyroidism group (50 female patients with age ranged from 18 to 60 years) and hypothyroidism group (50 female patients with age ranged from 18 to 75 years). A control group (30 healthy females with a

Background: The accumulation of the lipid in the vascular smooth muscle cell within the arterial intima is a key process of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a degenerative disease of blood vessels leading to stroke.
Materials & Methods.One hundred and ten patients with acute stroke were included in this study 88 patients with ischaemic or infarction stroke and 22 patients with hemorrhagic type ) as well as thirty apparently normal healthy subjects as controls.
Results.Triglycerides levels and AI only were statistically significant in ischaemic type of stroke (P<0.005) while other lipid fractions were similar to the control values.
Conclusion: Acute stroke patients (infarction type) had significantly

Background: Thiopurines are essential medications in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) treatment protocols as anti-cancer agents since long time; however, their use might result in unexpected toxicities in ALL children due to the low thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) activity, a major enzyme involved in 6- mercaptopurine metabolism, which strongly correlates to the genetic polymorphism of the TPMT gene in those patients.

Objective: To identify the most common TPMT polymorphisms in children with ALL and its frequencies.

Methods: A cross sectional study enrolling eighty-one ALL children receiving mercaptopurine drug during their maintenance course of treatment accordin

Background: Using Laparoscopic approach, Cholecystectomy is made hazardous by distortion of the anatomy of Calot's triangle by acute or chronic inflammation and dense omental adhesions. Laparoscopic subtotal cholecystectomy (LSTC) without cystic duct ligation is an alternative to conversion to open surgery in difficult cases.

Results: Fifty cases of LSTC were performed, 32 of them were males and the remaining 18 patients were females. The age of study group was ranged (18 – 75) years with a median of (46) year. The median operating time was about 90 min. and the mean duration of hospital stay was 7.3±2.2 days. There were 8 patients (16%) with postoperative bile leak, most of them recover s

Background: Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum are recognized as important health problem in different countries. Humans may infect by two parasites at different age groups. But more common in countries with poor sanitation and unsafe water.  Cellular and humoral response is engaged by the host to fight against parasitic infection, cytokines are produced by CD4 of payer's patches or generated from the mucosa lymphoid tissue as result of long duration antigen stimulation via trophozoites or cyst stage or others.    

Objectives: To evaluate the levels of IL-2, -4 and C- reactive protein in the sera of patients with     &nbsp

The present study aimed to look for the differences in the oxidative stress status in sera and saliva samples of type 2 diabetic Iraqi patients with and without proliferative diabetic retinopathy. As well as to look for the possibility whether this status can be measured in saliva as an alternative sample to that of serum, hence to achieve that total oxidant status, total antioxidant status and oxidative stress index were measured in both sera and saliva samples of two groups of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the healthy individuals. Upon the comparison between patients without proliferative diabetic retinopathy and the control sample the results showed presence of a significant increase (p < 0.05) of total oxidant st

Multiple studies support a role for inflammation in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis and unstable cardiac syndromes. However, of the known pro-inflammatory cytokines, only elevated plasma levels of interleukin-6(IL-6) have been linked to Unstable Angina. We sought to examine the plasma levels of other major proinflammatory cytokines in similar clinical settings patients with unstable angina and acute myocardial infarction and the relationship extent between them. This study aimed to investigate and compare the level of IL-1 in Unstable Angina and Acute Myocardial Infarction patients. Thirty patients with unstable angina and thirty patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction, also thirty healthy individual as control were included