Background: Clinicians and investigators consider the normal range of bowel habit and frequency as between 3 to 21 motions per week . Stool frequency out side the normal range may be unusual but may not be abnormal in the sense of a disease . And according to the consistency, the normal stool ranges from porridge like to hard and pellety .Objectives: To establish a basic data about the bowel habits (consistency and frequency) in a sample of healthy Iraqi population; in addition to learn about their definition of constipation and diarrhea.Methods: Prospective study from Jan 2000- Jun 2000 at Al-Yarmouk teaching hospital, Baghdad. Questionnaires were distributed to 950 healthy persons of different age group .The questionnaire included: Det

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune diseasecharacterized by chronic inflammationthat affects joints and cartilage. Bone complications such asRA-relatedosteoporosis are one of the most extra-articular manifestations. Many inflammatory mediators are released during RA disease pathophysiology; these mediators stimulate osteoclast genesis of bone by direct effects on RANKL and OPG. The study aimedto measure RANKL, OPG in RA patients treated with Etanercept only and other groups treated with Methotrexate onlyat baseline and after three months to evaluate bone state. An observational case-control prospective study was done on 30 RA patients who received MTX, 30 RA patients who received ETN, and 30 healthy,age-matched control groups. The

This paper introduces some properties of separation axioms called α -feeble regular and α -feeble normal spaces (which are weaker than the usual axioms) by using elements of graph which are the essential parts of our α -topological spaces that we study them. Also, it presents some dependent concepts and studies their properties and some relationships between them.

Background: Imprelon® Biostar foils are new alternative tray material that has become increasingly popular because oftheir several advantages. Also, (Duran®) is another type of Biostar foils which is used in splint therapy. This study assessed some mechanical properties of these two types Biostar sheets in comparison with some types of acrylic resins used for construction of trays and splints. Materials and Methods: A total of 150 specimens were prepared, 30 specimens for each test, 10 for each group material in order to assess some mechanical properties of the Imprelon® Biostar foil (dimension stability, surface roughness and shear bond strength of Imprelon® materialto zinc oxide impression material) and compare them to that of the oth

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

The objective of this study is to evaluate the level of parathyroid hormone, Co enzyme Q and total antioxidant status in serum’s women with fibromyalgia syndrome firstly, then to demonstrate if these biochemical markers affected by age and obesity.

      This study was performed at Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Consultation Unit in Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Venous blood sample were drawn from (59) female with FMS and (30) control (without FMS). The serum was obtained after on standing in order to coagulate then centrifuged. The mean age± SD of FMS group was (42.22±15.34) years and for control was (40.7±18.22) years. Those participants were subdivided into four different groups acc

Background: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most commonly encountered valve lesion in modern clinical practice. Severe mitral regurgitation may cause systolic dysfunction. Left ventricular ejection fraction may not be an accurate measurement of LV function in patients with mitral insufficiency. Myocardial performance index (MPI) is a simple non invasive measure of myocardial function. Methods: The study involved 50 patients with valvular mitral regurgitation and 50 healthy subjects as a control group. Transthoracic echocardiography was carried out for all patients and control group. The echocardiographic measurements included left ventricular end diastolic and end systolic dimensions, left atrial diameter, ejection fraction (EF), and myoca

Background: Antimicrobial agents have been considered as having potential for the prevention of dental caries. This study aimed to test the effect of different concentrations of cardamom and black tea extracts on the sensitivity and growth of salivary mutans streptococci in comparison to chlorhexidine gluconate (0.2%) in vitro. Materials and methods: In this study. Mutans streptococci were isolated from saliva of 34 healthy people (aged between 22-40yrs). The bacteria was isolated, purifiedand diagnosed according to morphologicalcharacteristic and biochemical tests. Aqueous extracts of cardamom and black tea were prepared. Different concentrations of extracts were prepared and estimated in gm/ 100ml deionized water. The agar diffusion techn

Background: Diabetic patients have been reported to be more susceptible to gingivitis and periodontitis than healthy subjects. Many intracellular enzymes like (alkaline phosphatase- (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase- (AST) and alanine aminotransferase- (ALT) that are released outside cells into the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva after destruction of periodontal tissue during periodontitis. This study was conducted to determine the periodontal health status and the levels of salivary enzymes (ALP, AST and ALT) of the study and control groups and to correlate the levels of these enzymes with clinical periodontal parameters in each study group. Subjects, Materials and Methods: One hundred subjects were enrolled in the study, with a