Background: Patients in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were considered immunocompromised, especially those on hemodialysis (HD) procedure which seemed to produce alterations of the immune status. BK polyomavirus (BKV) was found to be an aggravating factor of renal failure, and interest in immunosuppression has increased due to BKV infection.Objective:This study aimed to investigate thepossible association between BKV with ESRD with and without dialysis. Subjects and Methods:A case-control study included 150 serum samples collected from 50 patient with ESRD on dialysis,50 without dialysisand50 apparently normal subjects with normal renal function as control.Quantitative Real time PCR(RT-PCR) was done for detection of BKV viral load.Results: twenty (40%) out of the 50 dialysis patients were positive for BKV by RT-PCR and, eight (16%) were positivein patients without dialysis, while none of the controls was positive. There were highly significant differences (p<0.001)on comparing between the mean viral load in patients who had dialysis was 2.16X10 5 copies/ml of BK viralDNA, and those without dialysis1 22X10 3 copies/ml of BK viralDNA. Conclusion:These results strongly indicated the role of BKV infection (quantitatively and qualitatively) in ESRD particularly in patients with dialysis; this put dialysis as a potential risk factor for BKV infection in those patients.

Herbal remedy has been used for beauty and health purposes in the traditional and modern medicine. The range of using herbs has been escalating in the past few years . However, there are no enough scientific based evidence in this aspect, as herbs contain a wide range of phytochemicals that has to be studied in meticulous details to understand its effect on the body. In this study, three plants were chosen from the local Iraqi market and extracted, then a pharmacological study was conducted on mice. Histopathological changes were studied on all the study groups. It was concluded that the three herbal aqueous extracts of ( APIUM GRAVEOLENS, CARTHAMUS TINCTORIOUS AND PUNICA GRANATUM) gave an antiaging effect and was able to reverse aging induced by D- Galactose. PUNICA GRANATUM ( Pomegranate) gave the best result in reversing aging signs on mouse skin.

Background: Herbal medicine has been used from antient times to defy aging as cleopatra used several herbs as a drink or topically and pomegranate was a main herb used in her system, it was named the fruit of immortality. Combining three herbs into one preparation is recommended to increase medicinal benefits while reducing toxicity and to obtain a synergistic effect. In this study we have found that a polyherbal (Apium graveolens, Carthamus tinctorius, Punica granatum) extract from Iraqi origin have gave a stronger effect than vitamin E. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the poly herbal extract in vitro as an antiaging and antioxidant agent in comparison with vitamin E, which is considered as one of the most potent anti aging agents. Materials and methods: forty mice were orally treated and divided into 4 groups ( all were induced with D- Galactose for aging accept the positive control): the first group was positive control, the second was negative control while the third group was treated with vitamin E, and the last group with the polyherbal extract. Later a number of biochemical tests were conducted to evaluate its effectiveness including; test of catalase, GSH-PX, GHS and oxidative stress parameters Results: Our research showed that treated groups with the herbal extract showed great results compared the group treated with vitamin E. Lower levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were shown to be associated with reduced levels of MMP-1 upregulation, collagen loss, and increased levels of Nrf2 nuclear accumulation. The polyherbal extract we found, upregulated Nrf2 and reduced ROS production and oxidative damage by D- Galactose. Conclusion: According to the results of our research, the polyherbal extract may be a promising candidate for the prevention of aging signs induced by the intake of D- Galactose. The antioxidant action of vitamin E (VE) makes it an essential nutrient and an important antioxidant to defy aging. Deficit (VED) of VE leads to central nervous system, reproductive and immunological disorders leading to aging. However, this study showed that the polyherbal extract we used gave much better results than vitamin E in preventing aging signs. Keywords: Biochemical analysis, Apium graveolens, Carthamus tinctorious, Punica granatum, Antiaging