Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, progressive, inflammatory autoimmune disease of unidentified etiology, associated with articular, extra-articular and systemic manifestation that require long-standing treatment. Taking patient’s beliefs about the prescribed medication in consideration had been shown to be an essential factor that affects adherence of the patient in whom having positive beliefs is an essential for better adherence. The purpose of the current study was to measure beliefs about medicines among a sample of Iraqi patients with Rheumatoid arthritis and to determine possible association between this belief and some patient-certain factors. This study is a cross-sectional study carried out on 250 already diagnosed rheumatoid

Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is a common form of noncicatricial hair loss of unknown cause, affecting 0.1-0.2% of the general population. Most evidence supports the hypothesis that it is disease of the hair follicle of autoimmune nature mediated by T-cells, with important cytokine role. Objective of the Study. The objective of this study is to study the association and changes in serum levels of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with AA in relation to the type, activity, and disease duration. Patients and Methods. Thirty-eight patients with AA and 22 individuals without the disease as controls were enrolled in this case-controlled study conducted in the Department of Dermatology in the Al-K

Osteoporosis (OP) is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mineral density and deterioration of bone architecture, resulting in bone strength reduction and increased fracture susceptibility. Estrogen deficiency in post-menopausal women is possibly responsible for the instability between bone formation and resorption, which is managed by specific osteoclastogenic cytokines that may be leading to resorption. This study aims to estimation of the concentrations of interleukins −8, −17, −22, beside to certain parameters in blood serum and explained their roles in the development of osteoporosis pathogenicity in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods A case-control study included 108 Iraqi postmenopausal women participa

Psoriasis is a dermatological, chronic, immune-mediated condition. Psoriasis symptoms are not associated with physical burden only, but it may also have psychosocial effects on patients, diminished cognitive control, poor body image and impairments in everyday life. The value of quality of life is important since improving it is the principal goal for non-curative disease. The aim of the current study was to evaluate quality of life in a sample of Iraqi patients with psoriasis. This study is a cross-sectional study that involved 300 already diagnosed psoriasis patients who attended to the center of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical City/Baghdad. The mean age of patients was (35.156 ±10.549 years). The Arabic version of Dermatology Li

Biological drugs have an active substance that is made by a living organism or derived from a living organism. They are one of the important therapy options used in a wide range of diseases especially life-threatening diseases. Biological therapy opens new opportunities for treating different diseases for which drug therapy is minimal, but they have considerable differences in the safety consequences in comparison with non-biological drugs. The aim of the current study was to assess the post-marketing safety profile of biological drugs used in Iraqi hospitals by the analysis of the reported adverse drug reactions regarding their severity, seriousness, preventability, expectedness, and outcome. It is a retrospective study of the individu