Background: Prolactin is a hormone, as well as a cytokine which is synthesized and secreted from the anterior pituitary gland and various extra pituitary sites including immune cells under control of a superdistal promoter that contains a single nucleotide polymorphism -1149 G/T. Rheumatoid Arthritis has been associated with increased serum prolactin levels.Objectives: To investigate the association of the extra pituitary -1149 G/T promoter polymorphism among Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients and prolactin levels.Methods: We tested 73 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 40 healthy individuals. The DNA samples were genotyped using the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction fragment Length Polymorphism method and the levels of prolactin serum were measured using Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.Results: The parameters rheumatoid factor, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum prolactin concentrations of rheumatoid arthritis patients were significantly increased compared with healthy controls. The frequency of T allele and TT genotype was highest in control group compared with their frequency in rheumatoid arthritispatients, vice versa the G allele and GG genotype. There issignificant differences in prolactin levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients compared with healthy controls according to PRL-1149 G/T polymorphism. In rheumatoid arthritis patients, carriers of the GG, GT genotypes had higher prolactin levels in comparison to TT genotype but did not show any significant difference.Conclusions: There is a possible association between prolactin levels and rheumatoid arthritis. We found correlation between rheumatoid arthritis and prolactin -1149 G/T polymorphism. The prolactin -1149 G allele is a genetic marker for increased rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility in Iraqi population. In addition, influence of prolactin -1149 G/T polymorphism on prolactin levels
Background: Colonic cancer is a very common disease world-wide being fourth most common cancer characterized by abnormal proliferation of the inner wall of colon then taking full colon wall thickness then spreading to surrounding lymph nodes and tissues and finally distant metastasis. It is one of most complicated diseases with debilitating symptoms which becomes more sever , prominent and specific with advancing stage with high percent of fatality and relatively short survival if diagnosed late or if left untreated.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of serum CEA & sAPRIL levels in the diagnosis and screening of colon cancer and their validity for this.Patients and methods: This study was applied on 35 patients with colonic can
... Show MoreDiabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) is a chronic and progressive condition, which affects people all around the world. The risk of complications increases with age if the disease is not managed properly. Diabetic neuropathy is caused by excessive blood glucose and lipid levels, resulting in nerve damage. Apelin is a peptide hormone that is found in different human organs, including the central nervous system and adipose tissue. The aim of this study is to estimate Apelin levels in diabetes type 2 and Diabetic peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) Iraqi patients and show the extent of peripheral nerve damage. The current study included 120 participants: 40 patients with Diabetes Mellitus, 40 patients with Diabetic peripheral Neuropathy, and 40 healthy
... Show MoreBackground: Behçet’s disease (BD) is a disorder of systemic inflammatory condition. Its important features are represented by recurrent oral, genital ulcerations and eye lesions. Aims. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate and compare cytological changes using morphometric analysis of the exfoliated buccal mucosal cells in Behçet’s disease patients and healthy controls, and to evaluate the clinical characteristics of Behçet’s disease. Methods. Twenty five Behçet’s disease patients have been compared to 25 healthy volunteers as a control group. Papanicolaou stain was used for staining the smears taken from buccal epithelial cells to be analyzed cytomorphometrically. The image analysis software has been used to
... Show MoreObjective: The present study aims to assess the stressful life events for patients with substance abuse in Baghdad city.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out at (Baghdad teaching hospital and Ibn-Rushed Psychiatric hospital).
Starting from 1
st of December 2012 to 3
rd of July 2013, A non-probability (purposive) sample of 64 patients that
diagnosed with substance abuse, the data were collected through the use of semi-structured interview by
questionnaire, which consists of three parts sociodemographic data, medical information, and Life events scale
consists of 49-items distributed to six domains including, family and social domain, health domain, security, legal and
criminal domain, work and school do
Opportunistic fungal infections due to the immune- compromised status of renal transplant patients are related to high rates of morbidity and mortality regardless of their minor incidence. Delayed in identification of invasive fungal infections (IFIs), will lead to delayed treatment and results in high mortality in those populations. The study aimed to assess the frequency of invasive fungal infection in kidney transplant recipients by conventional and molecular methods. This study included 100 kidney transplant recipients (KTR) (75 males, and 25 females), collected from the Centre of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation in the Medical City of Baghdad. Blood samples were collected during the period from June 2018 to April 2019. Twent
... Show MoreAcromegaly has been associated with several metabolic health conditions that can increase risks of death and illness. These include heart disease, diabetes, and problems with how the body regulates insulin levels. Multiple studies have found that people living with acromegaly are two to four times more likely to pass away than others of the same age and sex in the general population. Research also suggests a link between acromegaly and higher levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the body. MDA is a byproduct formed during natural processes like prostaglandin and lipid peroxidation production that is able to damage genes and has been connected to cancer development. The transmembrane protein known as soluble a-Klotho (SAKL) is
... Show MoreBackground. 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
... Show MoreObjective Thalassemic patients present with multiple immune abnormalities that may predispose them to oral Candida, however this has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to assess oral candidal colonization in a group of patients with β-thalassemia major both qualitatively and quantitatively. Study design The oral mycologic flora of 50 β-thalassemia major patients and 50 age- and sex-matched control subjects was assessed using the concentrated oral rinse technique. Candida species were identified using the germ tube test and the Vitek yeast identification system. Results Oral Candida was isolated from 37 patients (74%) and 28 healthy subjects (56%; P = .04). The mean candidal count was significantly higher in thalassemic patie
... Show MoreBackground: psychiatric and behavioral side effects are
common in patients with epilepsy and it may represent an
intrinsic feature of the disease itself or a side effect of the
antiepileptic use. Our aim in the present study is to assess
the psychiatric side effects of Sodium Valproate and
Carbamazipine .as these drugs are the most commonly
used antiepileptic drugs in Iraq.
Methods: 80 patients with primary generalized epilepsy
on Carbamazipine and 50 patients on Sodium Valproate
were enrolled in the present study; all the patients were
assessed for any psychological disturbances using semistructural interview based on the tenth edition of the
international classification of the diseases(ICD 10)
adopte