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: viruses are responsible for a large proportion of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). Other causes of LRTIs are bacteria: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus being the most common. Sputum samples are commonly used in the microbiological laboratory for diagnosing lower respiratory infections. Objective: The aim of this study to evaluate the causative bacteria and antibiotics sensitivity in culture of sputum samples. Patients Methods: A retrospective study performed in the microbiology department of Al Immamin Al Kahdimin Medical laboratory in Baghdad. The results of sput

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases which occurs as a result of unknown reasons. This study was conducted at Baghdad Teaching Hospital/City of Medicine, where blood samples were taken from 60 Iraqi patients with RA (49 females and 11 males) and these patients were matched by age and sex with 20 healthy controls (16 females and 4 males). Patients with RA were diagnosed by a consultant rheumatologist according to ACR / EULAR criteria in 2010. In this study the patients were divided into four groups as follows; the first group consisted of 12 patients treated with methotrexate (MTX), the second group consisted of 10 patients treated with etanercept, the third group consisted of 18 patients treate

Vitiligo is an acquired idiopathic skin disorder characterized by depigmented macules due to loss of cutaneous melanocytes. A potential role of the immune dysfunction has been suggested in vitiligo, so to test this hypothesis, certain cytokines (IL-17A and TNF-?) and immunoglobulins (IgM, IgG, IgA and total IgE) were investigated in all participants. The study included: 60 patients with age range between (6-55) year; 30(11 males and 19 females) were untreated and 30(12 males and 18 females) were treated with Narrow Band Ultraviolet-B (NB-UVB) and 30 (14 males and 16 females) apparently healthy control. Serum was separated and cytokines (IL-17A and TNF-?) and total immunoglobulin E (IgE) were detected by using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Ass

The present study was conducted to investigate the resistance of fluoroquinolones (FQs) and the effects of mutations in the resistance gene in clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa isolated from different sources in Al-Hussein Hospital, Al-Samawah city, Iraq. The basic mechanism of the resistant of fluoroquinolones in P. aeruginosa is via mutations occurring in the basic bacterial gyrA gene encoding-subunit A of DNA gyrase . Forty clinical isolates from various sourced  (burn 7 (17.5 %), wound 7 (17.5 %), ear 2 (5 %), operation room 12 (30 %), urine 3 (7.5 %), and industrial dialysis center 9 (22.5 %)) were isolated based on bacteriological methods confirmed by 16s rRNA gene using PCR technique. A se

Background: Osteoporosis is an extra-articular complication of rheumatoid arthritis that results in increased risk of fractures and associated morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Objective: To evaluate changes in bone mineral density in a sample of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients on biological (anti tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha) and non-biological agent disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Patients and Methods: A cross sectional study enrolled 60 RA patients diagnosed by rheumatologist according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (2010 ACR/EULAR) classification criteria for RA. Thirty patient on biological agent (anti TNF alpha) and 30 patient on non-biological agent (D

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic destructive inflammatory disease associated with destruction of joint connective tissues and bones, affecting 0.5%–1% of the population worldwide reporting higher prevalence of periodontitis among rheumatoid arthritis patients. The purpose of this study is to estimate level of salivary C-reactive protein in relation to the occurrence and severity of the periodontal disease and other oral parameters among group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis Material and methods: Fifty women patients with rheumatoid arthritis; twenty five on Methotrexate treatment and twenty five on combination treatment of Methotrexate and Etanercept selected as study groups with an age range (30-40) years old and

Water is crucial for all known forms of life without providing any calories or organic nutrients, while many people, especially in developing countries, may not be able to access pure and safe drinking water. They could lose their lives or become sick because waterborne diseases could contaminate the water, and when the chemical and/or physical properties of the water are not within the national and international standards. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate water quality of the Halabja drinking water and Sirwan river. Halabja city is located to north of Iraq, north-east of the capital Baghdad. Every week of the year 2019, apart from official holidays, water samples were collected from each of river and several areas (4-10 section