Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with various clinical types. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is significantly elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients compared with that of healthy controls. The aim of this study is to evaluate serum levels of GFAP in relation to disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS patients and to compare them with those of healthy controls. Method: This study involved 58 MS patients of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) type, 22 in an active stage of the disease and 36 in remission, and 50 healthy individuals as age- and sex-matched controls. Blood samples were taken from the patients at the MS Clinic of the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, and the serum levels of GFAP were determ

Three mesoporous silica with different functional group were prepared by one-step synthesis based on the simultaneous hydrolysis and condensation of sodium silicate with organo - silane in the presence of template surfactant polydimethylsiloxane - polyethyleneoxide (PDMS - PEO). The prepared materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption experiments. The results indicate that the preparation of methyl and phenyl functionalized silica were successful and the mass of methyl and phenyl groups bonded to the silica structure are 15, 38 mmol per gram silica. The average diameter of the silica particles are 103.51,

Prostate cancer is an important and potentially fatal disease in humans. Both genetic and environmental risk factors are associated with increased risk of prostate cancer among Asian pop

An experiment was conducted using pots (capacity of 4 kg soil/pot) in the glasshouse of Biology Dept. College of Education (Ibn Al-Haitham) University of Baghdad during 2008-2009 growing season, in order to determine the effect of different levels of urea fertilizer (Zero, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 gm/4 kg soil in pot) these equal to (Zero, 100,200,400 kg/ha) and different levels of superphosphate fertilizer (Zero, 0.1, 0.2 gm/4kg soil in pot), these equal to (Zero, 100,200 kg/ha) on some morphological and physiological characteristics of fenugreek plant. This experiment was conducted using Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications and the experiment included (36) pots. Results indicated clear increase in all studied characteristics wi

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is still considered a worldwide leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Within the last decades, different modalities were used to assess severity and outcome including Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), imaging modalities, and even genetic polymorphism, however, determining the prognosis of TBI victims is still challenging requiring the emerging of more accurate and more applicable tools to surrogate other old modalities

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) is an immunological disorder associated with chronic inflammatory process of several unspecific regions of gastrointestinal tract but frequently detected in the terminal Ilium and proximal colon or both. This disease frequently presented with various oral manifestations as a consequence of inflammatory process of the disease, nutritional deficiency or medications side effects. Several therapeutic approaches have been developed for CD management that are targeting the inflammatory process and directed at controlling the host immune response. Immunosuppressants such as Azathioprine and anti-TNF α agents as well as the combination of them have been widely used as an effective therapeutic modality with a bett

Background: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are said to be inherited in a multifactorial fashion, i.e. genetic-environmental interaction. Maternal nutritional deficiencies had long been reported to cause NTDs, especially folate deficiency during early pregnancy. More attention had been paid to the exact mechanism by which this deficiency state causes these defects in the developing embryo. The most significant of all researches was that connecting reduced folate and increased homocysteine level in maternal serum on one hand and the risk of developing a NTD baby on the other hand. Objectives : to determine the significance of homocysteine level in Iraqi mothers who gave birth to babies with NTDs as compared to normal controls. Patients, Materials