Background: Lead (pb )is suspected to be one of the endocrine disruptors. People are exposed to high levelsof it in the environment through several ways .In the last years there was an evidence that it affects semenquality. The aim of the study is to assess the level of lead in the blood of male patients and correlate it with theseminal fluid parameters and hormonal levels.Methods: Fifty three infertile male patients, attending the infertility clinic in Baghdad Teaching Hospital fromFebruary 2016 till June 2016, participated in this study. Detailed history was taken and careful examinationwas done. Semen was collected from the patients and analyzed. Blood was withdrawn for hormonal and leadanalysis.Results: There was an increase in blood le

Melatonin, a hormone synthesized mainly by the pineal gland, has been found in extra-pineal organs as well. It’s known as an organizer of circadian rhythms and more recently as an anti-oxidant. In addition to its role in maintaining immunity, pathophysiology of cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and as an anti-cancer agent, evidence has demonstrated that melatonin exerts a positive impact on male and female fertility primarily through oxygen scavenging effects. In In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) programs, supplementation of melatonin may be associated with better outcomes in terms of sperm quality, oocyte quality, embryo quality and pregnancy rates. This review summarizes various actions of melatonin on the body focusing on male an

Melatonin, a hormone synthesized mainly by the pineal gland, has been found in extra-pineal organs as well. It’s known as an organizer of circadian rhythms and more recently as an anti-oxidant. In addition to its role in maintaining immunity, pathophysiology of cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and as an anti-cancer agent, evidence has demonstrated that melatonin exerts a positive impact on male and female fertility primarily through oxygen scavenging effects. In In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) programs, supplementation of melatonin may be associated with better outcomes in terms of sperm quality, oocyte quality, embryo quality and pregnancy rates. This review summarizes various actions of melatonin on the body focusing on ma

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a group of autosomal recessive disorders. The most frequent one is 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Analyzing CYP21A2 gene mutations was so far not reported in Iraq. This work aims to analyze the spectrum and frequency of CYP21A2 mutations among Iraqi CAH patients. Sixty-two children were recruited from the Pediatric Endocrine Consultation Clinic, Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, from September 2014 till June 2015. Their ages ranged between one day and 15 years. They presented with salt wasting, simple virilization, or pseudoprecocious puberty. Cytogenetic study was performed for cases with ambiguous genitalia. Molecular analysis of

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells and cellular elements play a role. The treatment guidelines recommend theuse of a second controller drug in addition to medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) rather than the use of high doses ICS alone in the treatment of moderate-severe persistent asthma. This study was conducted to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of three treatment regimens in Iraqi patients with moderate-severe persistent asthma.The study included three groups; each group included 15 patients. Patients were administered beclomethasone inhaler alone 1500-2000 μg/day, beclomethasone inhaler 750-1000 μg/day plus oral controlled release aminophylline tablets 450 mg/day or

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has a worldwide distribution and common infections. The presence of HCMV genome and antigens has been detected in many kinds of human cancers. The proto-oncogene Her2/neu is overexpressed in 25% to 30% of human breast cancers and frequently associated with tumor aggressiveness and worse prognosis. Examination was applied to detect different HCMV antigens and to demonstrate their correlation with Her2/neu overexpression in breast cancer. The present study includes samples from 70 women of 60 breast cancer patients and 10 normal breast tissues. Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks were obtained from each woman according to ethical approval. Human cytomegalovirus early antigen expression was detected in 5

Background: Cigarette smoking is an important risk factor that has a clear strong association with the prevalence and severity of chronic periodontitis (CP). Salivary biochemical parameters may be affected by both smoking and CP together. Materials and methods: Eighty systematically healthy male patients were included in this study. They were grouped based on their periodontal and smoking status. Unstimulated whole saliva (UWS) was collected from all subject. Salivary flow rate (FR) was measured during sample collection. Parameters such as salivary pH, total protein (TP), albumin (Alb), total fucose (TF), protein bound fucose (PBF) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were estimated. Results: Salivary flow rate was not altered regarding to smoking

Soil stabilization with liquid asphalt is considered as a sustainable step towards roadway construction on problematic subgrade soil, there are no requirements to import good quality materials or to implement energy consumption, but to mix the readily available soil with liquid asphalt through the cold mix technique. In this work, collapsible soil obtained from Nasiriya was mixed with asphalt emulsion, lime, and combinations of lime and asphalt emulsion (combined stabilization) and tested in the laboratory for California bearing ratio in dry and soaked conditions. Field trial sections have been prepared with the same combinations and subjected to plate bearing test. The influence of combined stabilization on the structural properties in ter

Interleukin-38 (IL-38), an inflammatory cytokine discovered in recent years, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). IL-38 is encoded by the IL1F10 (interleukin 1 family member 10) gene. Genetic variants of this gene have been associated with susceptibility to a number of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, while their association with SLE risk has not been explored. In this case–control study, two novel variants of the 5 prime untranslated region (5′UTR) of the IL1F10 gene, rs3811050 C/T and rs3811051 T/G, were investigated