Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cells within the bone marrow. In most patients, monoclonal immunoglobulin heavy chains or light chains are produced and are associated with organ dysfunction. The growth factor B-cell activating factor (BAFF) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma due to its ability to promote B-cell survival, expansion, and differentiation. Objective:  to measure the circulatory level of B-cell activating factor in multiple myeloma patients in relapsed and remission states and explore its possible correlations with the clinical staging, β2-microglobulin, and interleukin-6. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 60

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects mainly the synovial membranes and articular structures and is characterized by chronic, systemic inflammation involving multiple joints.Being a synovial joint, the Temporomandibular Joint is subject to the same disorders affecting other synovial joints, including RA.Beside it was considered as a specific serological marker for diagnosing RA disease ,antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide have proven to be associated with joints destruction, though; it may play a potential role in the prediction of the disease severity. Materials and Methods: Sixty nine individuals (69) were enrolled in this study, forty nine (49) were patients diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, a

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

Recently, there has been an increase in the prevalence of ulcerative colitis (UC), and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) worldwide, especially in certain recently industrialized countries like China and In¬dia. Globally, the prevalence of UC, a chronic illness that affects the large intestine, is rising. Fifty adherent invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) isolates were identified from ulcerative colitis biopsy samples originating from the Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and Hepatology teaching hospitals/medical city in Baghdad City. The test’s results demonstrated that the AIEC isolates had a high level of resistance to the majority of the an-tibiotics under investigation. Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC-PCR) and m

Background: Patient satisfaction is of increasing importance and widely recognized as an important indicator of quality of the medical care. There was no homogeneous definition of patient satisfaction, since satisfaction concerns different aspects of care or settings, as well as care given by various professions.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the patients’ level of satisfaction with diabetes care and to identify the underlying factors influencing it.

Methods: This cross-sectional study had been conducted in the Specialized Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology in Baghdad Al- Rusafa 2018. Where150 type two diabetic patients attending their follow-up

This study aimed to determine the effect of varicocelectomy on sperm parameters, oxidant- antioxidant status and chromatin maturity percent. The current study has been conducted on 154 infertile patients complaining from varicocele and varicocelomized men in addition to 25 fertile men as control. The results revealed significant decrease (P<0.05) in sperm concentration, progressive motile sperm percent, normal sperm morphology percent, GSH, SOD1, CAT levels and chromatin maturity percent and significant increase (P<0.05) in MDA and ROS concentrations in infertile patients with varicocele when compared to fertile men. The results revealed improvement (P<0.05) of sperm parameters quality, GSH, SOD1, CAT, MDA, ROS concentration and chromatin m

RA is a complex chronic disease, primarily affects the lining of the synovial joints and can cause progressive disability, premature death, and socioeconomic burdens. The clinical manifestations of symmetrical joint involvement include arthralgia, swelling, redness, and even limiting the range of motion. The pathogenesis is not known therefore the study included Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of systemic inflammatory diseases that characterized by a progressive disabling course. The study included patients suffering from RA and as healthy controls. immunological and genetic factor were evaluated in each subject by using serum level of cytokine and genetic factor. The etiopathology of the disease is not well known for this reason the study

4 Blood Res 2018;53:314-319. Received on August 11, 2018 Revised on August 30, 2018 Accepted on August 30, 2018 Background Iron overload is a risk factor affecting all patients with thalassemia intermedia (TI). We aimed to determine whether there is a relationship of serum ferritin (SF) and alanine ami- notransferase (ALT) with liver iron concentration (LIC) determined by R2 magnetic reso- nance imaging (R2-MRI), to estimate the most relevant degree of iron overload and best time to chelate in patients with TI. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 119 patients with TI (mean age years) were randomly se- lected and compared with 120 patients who had a diagnosis of thalassemia major (TM). Correlations of LIC, as determined by R2-MRI, with SF

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that mostly involves the spine and sacroiliac joints. It is associated with a decreased quality of life. Biological medicines such as infliximab and its biosimilar are the mainstay treatments for active ankylosing spondylitis.

Objective: The study objective was to conduct a pharmacoeconomic study comparing the cost-effectiveness of the reference infliximab with its biosimilar in ankylosing spondylitis patients visiting public hospitals.

Subjects and Method: This is a two-center pharmacoeconomic study performed at two large teaching governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, which s