Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common multifactorial inflammatory disease of older men, defined by increased growth of prostate epithelial and stromal cells. Elevation serum levels of Interleukin-8 (IL-8), oxidative stress and inflammatory markers represent predictive surrogate markers of the disease progression in smoker BPH patients. A total of 86 BPH patients and 54 control subjects were admitted to the urology unit, Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil City, Iraq between January and June 2020. Sera levels of prostate-specific antigen(PSA), IL-8, malondialdehyde (MDA), high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), testosterone and some biomarkers concentrations were measured in the patients according to instructions of manufacturers. Patients and controls were categorized into groups according to smoking status (smokers and non-smokers). The sera levels of PSA, IL-8 and inflammatory markers like oxidative stress(MDA), hs-CRP and testosterone in every smoker subgroup (BPH patients and control) increased compared to the same non-smoker subgroups and significantly increased compared with non-smoker control (p<0.05). PSA demonstrated a significant positive correlation with the following terms, IL-8, MDA, hs-CRP, testosterone and low-density lipid (LDL)(p<0.05) and, insignificant negative correlation with high-density lipoprotein(HDL), (p>0.05). The current study demonstrated mounting evidence to support the role of smoking in the pathophysiology of BPH through elevation levels of inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in sera of BPH patients.

Background and objective: Coronary artery disease is a chronic inflammatory disease in which many risk factors and inflammatory mediators, including macrophage migration inhibitory factor, are involved. This study aimed to estimate macrophage migration inhibitory factor level in coronary artery disease patients in regard to age, gender, and smoking. Methods: A total of 138 coronary artery disease patients and 38 coronary artery disease free control subjects were admitted to surgical specialty hospital-cardiac center in Erbil city, Iraq between January and December 2017. Plasma macrophage migration inhibitory factor concentration was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Patients and controls were categorized into subgroups according to age (<55 and ≥55 years), gender (women and men), and smoking status (smokers and non-smokers). Macrophage migration inhibitory factor level in every coronary artery disease subgroup (age, gender, and smokers) patients increased significantly compared to the same control subgroups (P <0.05). Macrophage migration inhibitory factor level showed a higher level in coronary artery disease patients subgroups (≥55 years, female, smokers) compared to their corresponding coronary artery disease subgroups (<55 years, male, and non smokers). Macrophage migration inhibitory factor demonstrated a significant positive correlation with fibrinogen and high sensitivity C-reactive protein, insignificant positive correlation with age, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, and insignificant negative correlation with high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (P >0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the diagnostic value of macrophage migration inhibitory factor elevation in coronary artery disease patients if compared with coronary artery disease free subjects, meanwhile suggesting that age, gender, and smoking had no direct role in macrophage migration inhibitory factor elevation considering their secondary minor contributions in macrophage migration inhibitory factor circulation. Keywords: Coronary; Macrophage; Age; Gender; Smoking.