Mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead, were measured in sediment samples of river and marine environmental of Basra governorate in southern of Iraq. Sixteen sites of sediment were selected and distributed along Shatt Al-Arab River and the Iraqi marine environment. The samples were distributed among one station on Euphrates River before its confluence with Tigris River and Shatt Al-Arab formation, seven stations along Shatt Al-Arab River and eight stations were selected from the Iraqi marine region. All samples were collected from surface sediment in low tide time. ICP technique was used for the determination of mercury and arsenic for all samples, while cadmium and lead were measured for the same samples by using Atomic Absorption Spectrosc

Background : Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of infertility in reproductive-age women , it is an important harbinger of metabolic disorders. It has been reported that hyperamylasemia can be used as marker of ovarian cancer patients . The current study was conducted to evaluate amylase activity and to estimate the correlation of this enzyme with insulin and insulin resistance in PCOS patients. Methods: This study was conducted on forty five patients with PCOS in comparison to twenty five women as control. Fasting blood sample was taken from each subject and analyzed for amylase activity , FSH,LH, Insulin , proteins, and blood sugar , meanwhile insulin resistance was determined by HOMA-IR index. Results: The result

Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a common disease, and a major determinant of morbidity and mortality in all races. The pleiotropic effects of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) such as modulation of cell survival, mineralization and inflammation, make it an interesting candidate mediator in the progression and destabilization of atherosclerotic lesions.Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the role of RANKL in the pathogenesis of ACS.Methods: The levels of RANKL were measured by ELISA method in sera of 60 ACS patients, 31 patients with unstable angina (UA) and 29 patients with myocardial infarction (MI) in comparison with 20 apparently healthy controls.Results: Current data indicate

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in females. In Iraq there are noticeable elevation in incidence rates and prevalence of advanced stages of breast cancer. Ferritin is intracellular iron storage protein abundant in circulation and its main application in differential diagnosis of anemia.

The level of serum ferritin was found raised in various cancers including breast cancer. The aim of this study was to assess whether the serum ferritin concentration would be altered in Iraqi women with breast cancer and it could be related to progression of disease.

Sixty eight females participated in this study. The mean age of these females was 53.25± 9.52 .The level of serum ferritin was measured in 24

To determine the relationship between chronic hepatitis B virus and autoimmune celiac disease, seventy five patients with chronic hepatitis B virus of ages (8-70) years have been investigated and compared with 50 healthy individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure antiGliadin antibodies IgA and IgG by ELISA test and anti-reticulin antibodies IgA and IgG by IFAT. There were significant elevation (P<0.05) in the concentration of AGA IgA and IgG antibodies compared to control group. The prevalence of AGA antibodies IgA and IgG was 8% and 9.33% respectively. There were a highly significant differences (P<0.01) between studies groups. The prevalence of antireticulin antibodies ARA IgA and IgG was 6.67% and 4.0% respectively i

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are enzymes that included, in a more range of detoxifying reactions by conjugation of glutathione, to electrophilic material. Polymorphisms n the genes that responsible of GSTs affect, the function of the GSTs. GSTs play an active role in protection of cell against oxidative stress mechanism. Polymorphisms of GSTP1 at codon 105 amino acids forms GSTP1 important site for bind of hydrophobic electrophiles and the substitution of Ile/Val affect substrate specially catalytic activity of the enzyme and may correlate with reach to different diseases in human like diabetes mellitus type2 disease. Correlation between these polymorphisms and changes in the parameters file of diabetic patients has also bee

This study is the first investigation in Iraq dealing with genotyping of IL-4 −590 (C>T) gene, especially in Iraqi patients with asthma. We studied forty-eight blood samples collected from patients with asthma and compared with age-matched 25 healthy individuals as controls. The polymorphism results of IL-4 −590 (C>T) gene by using amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS-PCR) showed the presence of C and T alleles and three genotypes (CC, CT, and TT). Interestingly the frequency of C allele and CC genotype was higher in patients with asthma in comparison with the same allele and geno