Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer in women worldwide. Metalloproteinases MMP2 and MMP9 participate in tumor invasion and metastasis by degrading extracellular matrix. In this study, we investigated the expression of MMP2 and MMP9 in breast tissues of Iraqi women with stage II and III breast cancer. The correlation between the expression levels of MMP2 and MMP9 in stage II-III bre...

OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the protective role of partial versus total splenectomy against sepsis in patients with thalassaemia when other preventive measures are not available. Overwhelming postsplenectomy infection is a serious complication of splenectomy in these patients, and most present with pneumococcal septicemia. Pneumococcal vaccine given before surgery is a well-established preve...

BACKGROUND Pro12Ala (rs1801282) is a common polymorphism of the human PPAR-γ gene. Studies have demonstrated conflicting results about its association with T2DM worldwide. There are no reports about such possible association among Iraqi people. OBJECTIVES This study aims at finding out whether having the mutant allele (Ala12) might be associated with T2DM among Iraqi people. METHODS One hun...

BACKGROUND Armed violence is a major public health and humanitarian problem in Iraq. In this descriptive statistical analysis we aimed to describe for the first time Iraqi civilian deaths caused by perpetrators of armed violence during the first 5 years of the Iraq war: over time; by weapon used; by region (governorate); and by victim demographics. METHODS AND FINDINGS We analyzed the Iraq Bo...

Background Australia is a multicultural nation with a humanitarian program that welcomes a large number of Iraqi refugees. Despite the high prevalence of trauma related disorders, professional help-seeking in this group is very low. This study sought to evaluate a face-to-face mental health literacy (MHL) Course that teaches community-based workers how to provide initial help to Iraqi refugees ...