Al Mustansiriyah Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

The present study was designed to investigate the therapeutic effects of
melatonin as well as zinc in combination or each one alone against the hepatic
and renal toxicity of lead in male rats.
Five groups of animals were allocated as follows: Group I, includes 12
rats injected subcutaneously with 0.2 ml physiological saline for 60 days; groups
II and III, each includes 12 rats, injected with lead acetate 100 mg/kg/day s.c for
30 days, followed by treatment with intraperotoneal injection of physiological
saline (0.2 ml) or melatonin 30mg/kg/day for the next 30 days. Group IV,
include 12 rats, injected with lead acetate 100 mg/kg/day s.c for 30 days,
followed by treatment with intraperotoneal injection of zinc sulphate 1.5
mg/kg/day for the next 30 days. Group V, includes 12 rats injected with
100mg/kg lead acetate s.c for 30 days followed by treatment with intraperitoneal
injection of 30 mg/kg/day melatonin and 1.5mg/kg/day zinc sulphate for the
latter 30 days. At the end of treatment period, the rats were sacrificed by an overdose (100mg/kg) of thiopental (twenty-four hour after the last injection).
Laparotomies were performed to obtain the livers and kidneys for the
assessment of tissue damage. Oxidative stress parameter (MDA), hemoglobin
content, liver and renal functions, and histological appearance of the studied
organs were evaluated and compared with that of negative and positive controls.
Treatment with melatonin or zinc reverses the damage induced by lead in many
organs and tissues through the reduction of MDA levels in RBCs, liver and
kidneys; in addition to the improvement in the indices of the functions of the organs studied
These findings demonstrated that addition of zinc to melatonin are
capable of further reversing damage of rat tissues caused by successive doses of lead acetate, and animals had restored their organ functions due to combined treatment.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition characterized by a series of
inflammatory processes. Various pro inflammatory cytokines like interleukin–
one (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor–alpha (TNF-α) are present in synovium
and tissue of rheumatic patients, so these agents play an essential role in
pathogenesis of joint diseases. Chloroquine phosphate (CQP) interferes the
cellular function of acid microenvironments such as lysosome, endosome and
Golgi's complex, as well as affects pathways of inflammation, immune cascade
and enzyme activity which ultimately resulted in cartilage destruction in knee joint with OA
.

Estimation of the in situ hybridization expression of IL-4and IL-10 in
patients with malignant breast cancer.
A technique utilizing in situ hybridization (ISH) was performed to detect
and determine the in situ expression of IL-4 and IL-10 mRNA using paraffin
embedded sections .Samples obtained from archive of department of pathology
of two hospitals in Baghdad for 60 patients, who were divided into two groups:
30 with malignant breast cancer (group-1) and 30 woman with non
malignant as a control group (group-2).
The levels of the in situ expression of both IL-4 and IL-10 mRNA were
found to be a highly significant increased in group 1 as compared with group 2
(p<0.001), with no significant correlation between IL-4 and IL-10 (p>0.05) in
all studied group.
The increasing expression of IL-4 and IL-10 in malignant breast cancer
tissue might be influence in the pathogenesis of malignant breast cancer.

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by
hyperglycemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both.
Cross-talk between the rennin-angiotensin system (RAS) and insulin signaling
has been demonstrated. The rennin angiotensin system (RAS) may regulate
pancreatic islet blood flow, oxygen tension, and islet (pro) insulin biosynthesis.
The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of low doses captopril and
losartan, as adjunct treatment in uncontrolled type 2 DM patients treated with
oral hypoglycemic agents alone.
This double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 75
patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus; they are randomized into
three groups:
Group A: includes (25) patients treated with placebo formula containing lactose
only in addition to glibenclamide (10 mg/kg) for 4 months; group B: includes
(25) patients treated with 12.5 mg captopril given once daily at bed time, for 4
months; group C: includes (25) patients treated with 25 mg losartan given as a
single daily dose at bed time for 4 months; all patients take the test drugs in
addition to the routinely administered oral hypoglycemic drug (glibenclamide 10
mg/kg). After 12 hours fasting, blood samples were collected from all patients to
measure fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), C
peptide, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL-c),
high density lipoprotein (HDL-c), serum urea and creatinine, alanine
transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma
glutamine transferees (GGT), and urine samples were obtained for assessment of
microalbuminuria (MAU), before starting drug treatment (as zero time sample)
and then after 4 months of treatment to follow the changes in the studied
parameters.
Adjuvant use of low doses of captopril or losartan with the currently used
oral hypoglycemic agents (glibenclamide) results in significant reduction in FPG
and HbA1c levels associated with increase in C-peptide level compared to those
treated with the oral hypoglycemic agents and placebo; additionally, lipid
profile, MAU, renal and liver functions were significantly improved after 4
months of treatment.
Inhibition of RAS by ACEIs or AT1 antagonists (ARBs) increases insulin
sensitivity and improves insulin secretion, where treatment of poorly controlled
type 2 DM patients with captopril or losartan resulted in improving the response
of target tissues to glibenclamide.
Key words: Captopril, Losartan, Glycemic control, Type 2 DM

The role of Nigella sativa L. (Ranunculaceae) (NS) was
investigated in the prevention of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver
toxicity.
Twenty four Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated into four groups
(6 rats each), first and second groups received either 2m/kg normal saline
or 10 ml/kg/day NS oil for seven days and sacrificed at day 8 with diethyl
ether; third and fourth groups received either 2ml/kg normal saline or 10
ml/kg/day NS oil for seven days for 7 days, and on day 7 they received
2ml/kg CCL4 (1:1v/v mixture of CCL4 99% and corn oil )1 hour prior to
the last dose, then sacrificed with diethyl ether on day eight. Blood
samples were obtained from the hearts to prepare serum for estimation of
bilirubin, activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate
aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Liver tissue
homogenate was prepared and used for estimation of malondialdehyde
(MDA) and glutathione (GSH), and liver tissue sections were prepared
for histological examinations.
The results indicated that NS oil decreased significantly the
elevated serum levels of liver enzymes and improve the state of oxidative
stress induced by CCl4.
In conclusion, NS oil protects rats against CCl4-induced
hepatotoxicity.
Key words: Nigella sativa oil, liver toxicity, oxidative stress

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of aspirin, clopidogrel
or their combination on different parameters in hypertensive patients.
Platelets adhesion, activation, and aggregation are central to thrombus
formation, which follows atherosclerotic plaque disruption and causes acute
coronary syndromes. Aspirin and clopidogrel exert their antiplatelet effects by
inhibiting thromboxane A2 production and adenosine diphosphate–induced
platelet aggregation pathways, respectively. This study was designed to evaluate
the possible effects of aspirin and clopidogrel given either alone or in
combination in patients with essential hypertension on blood pressure and other
parameters in addition to lipid profile using a randomized double blind,
crossover clinical study.
The study includes 78 hypertensive patients received aspirin 100mg,
clopidogrel 75mg or their combination (75mg aspirin &75mg clopidogrel) prior
randomization schedule. Systolic, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate,
respiratory rate and SPO2 were recorded at weekly intervals while, serum levels
of LDL-C, HDL-C and platelets count were recorded at monthly intervals.
Significant decline in SBP, DBP in all treatment groups (p<0.05) was
recorded, but for pulse rate, there was significant decrease in aspirin group and
combination group while for clopidogrel group there was significant increase,
also we noticed significant decrease in respiratory rate with aspirin and
clopidogrel but this decrease was absent with combination, LDL-C levels were
significantly increased during treatment with aspirin or clopidogrel, while their
combination did not show significant changes, HDL-C levels were significantly
increased during treatment with aspirin or combination, while clopidogrel did
not show significant changes.
We concluded that aspirin, clopidogrel or their combination were
effective in decreasing SBP & DBP in hypertensive patients.
Secondly, in susceptible individual, combination is better than aspirin and
clopidogrel, since no changes observed with combination on respiratory rate.
Finally, according to the limits of this study, there was no significant effect of
aspirin, clopidogrel or their combination on lipid profile and platelets count.
Key words: Aspirin, clopidogrel, hypertensive patients.

A total of 150 clinical specimens were collected from patients attending
Medical city Hospital in Baghdad to isolation and identification Staphylococcus
aureus on species level by Api staph 20 system (Biomereux , france). 33 (22%)
isolates were isolated from Staphylococcus aureus, this isolates divided
according to source of isolate: 15 (37.5%) isolate from wounds, 10 (20%) isolate
from bone infection, 7 (50%) isolate from nasal and throat swabs, one (2%)
isolate from urine.
Thirteen antibiotics were used for sensitivity test; all isolate were
resistance to Pencillin (100%), Ampicillin (100%), and while Erythromycin
(75.8%). Among the various antimicrobial Oxacillin showed high resisance
(69.6%), most effective antibiotics on S
. aureus
were Vancomycin (100%),
Meropenem (100%), while Amikacin and Ciprofloxacin in Percentage 79%,
76% recpectively.
In vitro minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Meropenem and
Ciprofloxacin were done to determined inhibition effect against all isolates of S.
aureus
aureus
Which is resist to Oxacillin( 23 isolate ) in Serial concentration (4-1024)
µg / ml, S.
was resistant to Meropenem in percentage 70% in break point
≥ 16, while Ciprofloxacim was resistant in percentage 74% in berak point ≥4.

The objectives of the present study are to determine the effect of different
concentrations of aqueous and oil extracts of cottonseed on haematological
parameters. Groups of male mice were orally administered aqueous extract
[20mg/kg/l day (G2) and 40 mg/kg/day (G3)] and other groups were administered
oil extract [20% (G5) and 40% (G6)] for six weeks.
The results showed that there was a significant (P<0.05) reduction in Hb
values for mice treated with 20% and 40% oil extract as compared to the control.
Also, significant (P<0.05) reduction in the percentage of PCV were noticed for
both concentrations of extracts as compared to the control groups. While non
significant (P>0.05) differences were shown in RBC and WBC count among
G5and G6 as compared to G4. Significant (P<0.05) increment in the platelet
count was shown in G2, G3, G5 and G6 as compared to the control. Differential
leukocyte analysis showed that a significant (P<0.05) reduction was observed in
the percentage of lymphocyte and significantly (P<0.05) increase neutrophils in
G2 and G3 as compared with G1 and in G6 as compared to G4. While,
monocytes (%) were significantly (P<0.05) decrease in G5 and G6 as compared
to G4. However, 40mg/kg/day aqueous extract dose demonstrated a significant
(P<0.05) increment in the percentage of eosinophil and basophile cells as
compared to G1.

Ciprofloxacin is an antibacterial agent belong to floroquinolones group, it
has broad spectrum activity against Gram positive and Gram negaitive bacteria.
Ciprofloxacin – HCl was formulated as a gel dosage form using two different
bases, a 5% methylcellulose and 5% sodium croboxy-methyl-cellulose gel base.
The concentration of (1% w/w) of the drug in each base was prepared.
In vitro availability of ciprofloxacin – HCl from these bases was studied, in
addition the diffusion of the drug using excised mouse skin technique were also
evaluated.
The results indicated that the extent of ciprofloxacin – HCl release was
higher from methylcellulose gel base than that from sodium caroboxy-methyl
cellulose gel base. While the data revealed that the diffusion of the ciprofloxacin
through the excised mouse skin was higher from sodium croboxy-methyl-cellulose
gel base than that from methylcellulose. According to these results, 5%
methylcellulose gel base was selected for further studies. The influence of storage
time and temperature on the stability of the drug, as well as physical properties and
pH, for the selected formula over a period of 45 days was studied. The
concentration of ciprofloxacin was found to decrease with time and temperature
and no changes in the physical properties were noticed. The shelf life of the drug in
the selected gel base was determined using exaggerated temperature techinque and
it was equal to 2.5 years.
The overall results of this study suggest that the selected formula could be
used in the preparation of ciprofloxacin gel as a topical dosage form to be used in. the treatment of some dermatological infections

Pregnant Women have an increased risk for some infections, particularly during the
last trimester. Phagocyte emigration from the circulation into tissues is an
important aspect of the initial immune response. There for, circulating phagocytes
of 42 pregnant and 15 post partum patients were studied in vitro for random and
chemotactic (or directional) migration by agarose gel. Random migration of
phagocytes for all 42 pregnant patients studied in each trimester was with in normal
limits, chemotactic migration of 25 patients who were between 6 and 33 weeks of
pregnancy was also similar to values obtained with control leucocytes (20 non pregnant normal female). However phagocytes of 17 other women studied between
week 34 of pregnancy and term showed marked depressions in chemotoxis during
labor and with in 3 days delivery, chemotactic migration increased to supernormal
levels in 14 of 15 women studied. Sera from 6 pregnant patients with proven
chemotactic defects did not reduce migration when incubated with normal
phagocytes. These chemotactic defects appear to be intrinsic and may be important
in predisposing to infections during late pregnancy.

A prospective study was done to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B
and C infection among normal individuals of different social and cultural
categories in capital of Libya (Tripoli) which is the most crowded city in Libya.
In all individuals (2492) blood samples were examined. It has been found
that prevalence of hepatitis B was (2.28%) and hepatitis C was (0.04%).
HBV prevalence increases with age. In elderly populations (50-80 years)
the prevalence of HBV was (3.07%) compared to (2.19%) in young individuals
(15-22 years). Males also were slightly more prone to HBV (2.27%) than
females (1.89%) according to our results.

Helicobacter pylori gastritis results in an increased secretion of basal and
meal-stimulated gastrin, which is also a physiologic amplifier of insulin release.
Aim of the study: To detect the relationship between H. pylori infection and
fasting blood glucose concentration.
The study was performed on 209 patients (112 females and 97 males) and
22 control subjects were referring to Immunology Dep. in Central Public Health
Laboratories for the period from August 2007 to June 2008, where H.pylori was
diagnosed serologically. Fasting serum glucose concentrations had been
measured by the glucose oxidase procedure.
The fasting plasma glucose was significantly lower in H. pylori infected
patients than non-infected ones. Seropositive anti-H.pylori IgG antibodies were
detected in 36.6% of women participants (41/112) and in 37.1% of men
participants (36/97).
The research findings indicate a positive association between H. pylori
infection and fasting serum glucose concentrations, indicating that H. pylori
infection and related gastrointestinal disorder may be related to glycaemic
status.

One hundred items of 60 talcum powders and 40 body lotions were
examined for their total aerobic bacterial, coliform and fungal counts. We also
carried out anaerobic bacterial counts for talcum powder as well as tests to
detect some potentially hazardous bacteria in all tested samples. Talcum
powders were more heavily contaminated with bacteria than body lotions. More
than 60% of the tested body lotions contained no viable bacteria or less than 100
C.F.U./gm, while 35% of the talcum powders contained this level. Five per
percent of the talcum powder were contaminated with 104 C.F.U. /gm and none
of the body lotions were contaminated to that extent. No coliforms were
recovered from any of the body lotions, while 3.3% of the talcum powder
examined contained coliforms in the range of 250-300 C.F.U/gm.
Staphylococcus Spp. were detected in one sample of both talcum powders and
body lotions. Two samples of talcum powder contained E. coli. Neither talcum
powder nor body lotions showed fungal counts. Also no talcum powder showed
the presence of anaerobic bacterial counts.
Keyword: microbial contamination, cosmetics, talcum powder, body lotion.

There are many questions still remain concerning the relationship between
the trace elements and thyroid hormones. Therefore, this study was undertaken
to evaluate the concentration levels of some trace elements (zinc, copper,
selenium, manganese, magnesium), and to reach the possible correlation
between these trace elements and thyroid hormones in hypothyroidism.
The study was included 50 patients with hypothyroidism and 28 healthy
volunteers' serves as control group matched with age, sex, and body mass index
(BMI). All participant had not taken vitamin or mineral supplements for at least
2 weeks before sampling, blood sampling were drawn to determine the serum
trace elements levels (Zn, Cu, Se, Mn, and Mg), thyroid hormone (T3, T4, and
TSH), and lipid profile (TC, TG, LDL, HDL, and VLDL). The results indicate
that the hypothyroidism patients have significant increase in TSH levels (P<
0.01), and significant decrease in T3, T3/T4 levels (P<0.001), although, there
were decrease in serum trace elements (Se, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Mg) in
hypothyroidism patients compared with controls group, (P< 0.001 for all serum
Se, Zn, Cu, Mn, and P< 0.01 for Mg). The results indicate that there was no
significant correlation between serum Cu, Mn, Mg and T3, T4, and TSH level;
but, there was a significant positive correlation between Se-T3 (r=0.286,
P<0.04), and Zn-T3 (r=0.3, P<0.01), also there was only a significant negative
correlation between serum Se-TSH levels (r=-0.315, P< 0.02) in hypothyroidism
patients. There is significant increase in the mean serum cholesterol (TC),
triglycerides (TG), and low density lipoprotein (LDL) in patients compared with
normal controls (P 0.01, P<0.001, <0.05) respectively. Also, there is significant
decrease in the mean serum concentration of high density lipoprotein (HDL) in
the patients with hypothyroidism than control, and our results showed that there
is positive correlation between TSH levels and lipid (cholesterol, triglyceride,
and very low density lipoproteins), although, there is negative correlation
between Mg concentration and lipid (TC, TG, LDL) levels. We conclude that
the trace elements Se, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Mg have altered in hypothyroidism
patients; there are correlations between some trace elements (Se, and Zn) and
thyroid hormones, but there are no obvious correlations between the other trace elements (Cu, Mn, and Mg) status and thyroid hormones. That is means there is
an interactions between some trace elements and thyroid hormones levels.

The aim of study is identifying the effect of electromagnetic waves
resulted from the electric power station of south Baghdad on the blood viscosity
of its workers. The study included the following:
The blood of 70 healthy and non smoker workers, working in the
operation and maintenance of electrical power generating systems of South
Baghdad thermal station at different operating ages and periods, was examined.
After analyzing the results obtained from laboratory tests like (Hb, ESR
and PCV) done at the general central health laboratories and comparing them
with the standard normal measures specified internationally.
The comparison results showed high significant difference at the level
P<0.01 for all ages examined by Hb test, while the comparison results did not
show significant differences in PCV and ESR tests at the level P>0.05. On the
other hand, the comparison results registered a confidence level not lower than
20% in the presence of a difference among the recorded results at the age (35
and over) and the standard value of ESR test too which indicated the influence
of those ages within the variable. The comparison results also showed high
significant differences at the level P>0.01 for all ages among the researched
indicators’ results at all periods of exposure at both indicators (PCV and ESR)
with the level P>0.05 at PCV indicator.
The study recommended decreasing the exposure hours basing on
international measures taken by WHO and also relying on the operating age with
the internationally depended limits as well as retesting annually to follow up the recorded limit levels.

Gag reflex is one of the major problems that may face some complete
denture wearer. This clinical study was conducted on twenty patients suffering
from gagging reflex selected from hundreds attending teaching clinic of medical
technical institute in Baghdad, each patient received a palateless upper denture.
The results showed that the palateless dentures were retentive,
comfortable and permit good taste for eighteen of them after six months follow
up, while two patients cannot accommodate to their dentures.
It was concluded that such a reflex can be overcomed by constructing
such dentures.

A simple, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric method of deter
mination of aspirin in pure form and pharmaceutical formulation.
The method is based on the formation of Prussian blue (PB) complex. The
reaction between the acidic hydrolysis product of the aspirin with the mixture of
FeCl3 and potassium hexacyanoferrate (ΙΙΙ) was evaluated for the
spectrophotometric determination of the aspirin. The maximum absorbance of
the colored complex occurred at λ=765nm. Reaction conditions have been
optimized to obtain PB complex of high sensitivity and longer stability. Under
optimum conditions the absorbance of the PB complex where found to increase
linearly with increase in concentration of the aspirin, which corroborated with
correlation coefficient value. The concentration ranges are 0.5-7µg mL-1 with
detection limit 0,2267µg mL-1 and relative standard deviation 0,025%. The
proposed method was successfully applied to determine of the selected aspirin in pure form and pharmaceutical formulations with good precision and accuracy
compared to standard method as revealed by t- and F- values and the results
obtained agree well with the labeled contents.
Key word: Aspirin, spectrophotometric, oxidation–reduction reaction.

Smoking should be considered at an early stage in the differential
diagnosis of unexplained polycythemia and to avoid inappropriate treatment and
also to motivate the patient to stop.
Fourty two patients with secondary polycythemia seen in the outpatient
clinic of Baghdad teaching hospital, Medical City over the period from Jan.
2008 to Jan. 2010. Total number of patients was 42 patients; follow up was done
only to 30 patients with secondary polycythemia who managed to reduce their
cigarette consumption. Many results were significantly different between heavy
smokers and reduced smokers. The hematocrit, leukocyte count and levels of
total cholesterol, hemoglobin and triglyceride were significantly higher in heavy
smokers, than light smokers, while the level of high-density lipoprotein
cholestrol was significantly lower. The weight of the patients and their blood
pressure were not changed befor and after reduce smoking. Secondary
polycythemia and all related measurments are smoking-related abnormal
finding; physicians should know the effects of smoking on medical check-up to
improve their disease, prevention and health promotion activities.
Key words: secondary polycythemia, hematocrit, triglyceride