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Background: Several years of war with the recent terrorist conflicts have cumulatively affected Iraq’s land, air, water, and health infrastructure, and a substantial rise in the incidence of congenital defects has been reported in the period following the Gulf War in 1991, which was principally accredited to the environmental contamination by depleted uranium. Aim: The aim is to review some published works of literature that are specifically concerned with environmental pollution after the war in Iraq as a possible risk factor for developmental disorders. Patients and Methods: In addition to the published articles, this review includes a direct descriptive data of congenital anomalies, which was obtained from Al-Khansaa, Al-Salaam, Al-Batool Teaching Hospitals of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and General Mosul Hospital in Mosul city over a period of 12 months, starting from October 2017 to October 2018. Results: All of the research related to this topic were discussed, and most of them revealed that a higher incidence of congenital disorders was detected among people exposed directly or indirectly to post-war environmental pollution by depleted uranium (DU) and other chemical constituents. From the analysis of the scientific publications, we observed that Basrah, Baghdad, Falluja, Mosul and Al-Anbar are predominantly affected by war contamination. The study revealed that there were 317 cases of birth defects out of the 44,372 newborns delivered over a period of one year after war in Mosul; thus, the overall percentage of congenital disorders was 0.71%, and defects of the nervous system were the most prominent, among which anencephaly was the predominant condition. The highest percentage of anomalies was detected in the maternal age of 21–26 and more in female newborns. Conclusion: We must decrease parental exposure to the possible teratogens through prenatal counseling and public education about the penalties of environmental pollution in order to arrange practical guidelines for public health and to alleviate the outcome of pregnancy. Keywords: pollution, congenital, post-war,environmental, review

This study was conducted to compare the anatomical histological and histochemical structure of human liver with the liver of domestic rabbits to evaluate the quality of liver of rabbit to be used as a model of mammalian species in the experimental researches. Ten liver biopsies of human (Group I) and same number of liver specimens of domestic rabbit (Group II) were used in this study. The liver specimens were processed and stained with Harris Hematoxylin and Eosin stain and Masson's Trichrome stain and examined under light microscope. For histochemical examination, Periodic Acid Schiff's, Best's carmine and Gomori's Alkaline Phosphatase stains were used. Histomorphometric measurements were done to compare some parameters between the two groups. Transabdominal ultrasound examination was done to compare ultrasonic appearance of the liver in both groups. The work was done from May 2018 to December 2018. The study revealed more lobulated liver of domestic rabbits, hexagonal lobules are mingled with each other in rabbit's liver compared to human, larger hepatocytes, with higher percentage of binucleated hepatocytes and thicker capsule in the human's liver than in the rabbit's liver. Histochemical results revealed less carbohydrates, less glycogen content with less activity of alkaline phosphatase in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes of the human's liver. The ultrasound image revealed denser hyperechoic diaphragm and fibrous capsule, nonhomogenous low echogenicity of parenchyma of the liver of human compared to the rabbit's liver. We conclude that the basic anatomical and histological structure is more or less similar in the human's liver and liver of domestic rabbit but the few differences might be related to the evolutional variations among mammals thus the value of the liver tissue of domestic rabbit to be used in the experimental researches is significant.

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Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurological emergency that require prompt diagnostic and treatment measures due to its associated mortality and morbidity. The role of neuro-inflammation in status epilepticus has been studied extensively and many potential molecules have been proposed as a promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the condition. Inside the nucleus, HMGB1 is a DNA-binding protein with many housekeeping functions. Under certain conditions, HMGB1 will be translocated to the extracellular space promoting a strong pro-inflammatory reaction with activation of many downstream inflammatory pathways related to seizure onset and progression. In this review the potential role of HMGB1 in the pathogenesis of SE was highlighted stressing on the promising implications of this molecule as a therapeutic target for SE.