Incidence of adverse reactions caused by first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs and treatment outcome of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Morocco.

Purpose: The treatment of tuberculosis is associated with a high incidence of adverse reactions with different degrees of severity. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of adverse reactions caused by first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs and to evaluate the treatment outcome of TB patients in a large region of Morocco.

Methods: It is a multi-centric observational cohort study conducted from January 01, 2014 to January 01, 2016.

Treatment outcomes of drug resistant tuberculosis patients in Morocco: multi-centric prospective study.

Background: Drug resistant tuberculosis is a major public health problem in Morocco and worldwide. Treatment outcome of drug resistant tuberculosis is poor and requires a long period of treatment with many toxic and expensive antituberculosis drugs. The aim of this study is to evaluate treatment outcomes of drug resistant tuberculosis and to determine predictors of poor treatment outcomes in a large region of Morocco.

Factors influencing anti-asthmatic generic drug consumption in Morocco: 1999-2010.

Background: The increasing availability of generic drugs (GD) resulted in a remarkable reduction in treatment costs that allowed a better access to health care.The aim of this study is to evaluate the share of anti-asthmatic generic drugs during the period 1999-2010 in Morocco and to look at the factors influencing generic development.

Methods: In this study, we used Moroccan sales data from IMS Health (Intercontinental Marketing Services).

[Generic drugs and the consumption trends of antihypertensives in Morocco].

Background: To evaluate the evolution of consumption of antihypertensive drugs generic among 1991-2010, to assess the impacts after the institution of Mandatory Health Insurance and the marketing of generic drugs.

Methods: We used sales data from the Moroccan subsidiary of IMS Health Intercontinental Marketing Service.

Results: Consumption of generic antihypertensive drugs increased from 0.

[Not Available].

Background: To evaluate the evolution of consumption of antihypertensive drugs generic among 1991-2010, to assess the impacts after the institution of Mandatory Health Insurance and the marketing of generic drugs.

Methods: We used sales data from the Moroccan subsidiary of IMS Health Intercontinental Marketing Service.

Results: Consumption of generic antihypertensive drugs increased from 0.

Sequential therapy versus standard triple-drug therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication: a prospective randomized study.

Purpose: Eradication rates following standard triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection are declining. Recent studies, conducted in a number of countries, have shown that sequential therapy for H. pylori infection yields high cure rates.

Impact of TP53 codon 72 and MDM2 promoter 309 allelic dosage in a Moroccan population with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in codon 72 of the TP53 gene (rs1042522) and in the promoter region of the MDM2 gene (SNP309; rs2279744) have been shown to play a role in the predisposition to many cancers. However, these findings were inconsistent in other tumor types, and ethnicity is suspected to be a critical factor influencing the effects of these SNPs on the cancer risk. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether these functional SNPs were associated with an enhanced risk of liver tumorigenesis in Moroccan patients.

First detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in shellfish and coastal environments of Morocco.

Shiga toxin Escherichia coli (STEC), also called verotoxin-producing E. coli, is a major cause of food-borne illness, capable of causing hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). This study was carried out to evaluate the presence of (STEC) and E.

Sequence analysis of the gene encoding H antigen in Escherichia coli isolated from food in Morocco.

In order to develop other molecular method useful for typing of motile and non motile Escherichia coli strains, a total of 207 strains of E. coli (133 reference strains, 74 food strains) were characterized by analysis of sequences of their amplified flagellin-encoding (fliC) gene products. The collection of reference strains was used for database building of fliC gene sequences.

The 752delG26 mutation in the RFXANK gene associated with major histocompatibility complex class II deficiency: evidence for a founder effect in the Moroccan population.

Major histocompatibility complex class II plays a key role in the immune response, by presenting processed antigens to CD4+ lymphocytes. Major histocompatibility complex class II expression is controlled at the transcriptional level by at least four trans-acting genes: CIITA, RFXANK, RFX5 and RFXAP. Defects in these regulatory genes cause MHC class II immunodeficiency, which is frequent in North Africa.

Polymorphisms in antioxidant defence genes and susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma in a Moroccan population.

Reactive oxygen species have been related to the aetiology of cancer as they are known to be mitogenic and therefore capable of tumour promotion. The aim of this study was to assess the role of common variation in three polymorphic genes (MnSOD Ala-9Val, GPX1 Pro198Leu and CAT -262 C > T) coding for antioxidant defence enzymes in modulating individual susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using a case-control study (cases = 96 and controls = 222). PCR-RFLP and sequencing methods were used to determine the genotype.

Borrelia hispanica relapsing fever, Morocco.

We found that 20.5% of patients with an unexplained fever in northwestern Morocco had tick-borne relapsing fever. Molecular detection specific for the 16S rRNA gene identified Borrelia hispanica.

PCR detection of Leishmania in skin biopsies.

Introduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic disease and one of the major health problems in Morocco. In 2006, the recorded total number of cases of CL was 3361, occurring predominantly in the rural population. A new and more sensitive diagnostic technique than current methods used is needed in this setting.

Single nucleotide polymorphism in DNMT3B promoter and its association with hepatocellular carcinoma in a Moroccan population.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a major malignant tumor characterized in all areas by the disparity of risk between genders. The molecular bases of such disparity are still poorly understood. DNA-methyltransferase-3B (DNMT3B) may play an oncogenic role during tumorigenesis, and its genetic variants have been consistently associated with risk of several cancers, but a single study has investigated their roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

MDM2 SNP309T>G polymorphism and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: a case-control analysis in a Moroccan population.

Background: The Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) gene encodes a negative regulator of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the MDM2 promoter (a T to G exchange at nucleotide 309) has been reported to produce accelerated tumor formation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this functional SNP is associated with an enhanced risk of liver tumorigenesis in Moroccan patients.

Carrier frequencies of mutations/polymorphisms in the connexin 26 gene (GJB2) in the Moroccan population.

Mutations in the Connexin 26 gene (GJB2/Cx26) are responsible for more than half of all cases of prelingual nonsyndromic recessive deafness in Caucasians. The carrier frequency of the 35delG-GJB2 mutation was found to be as high as 2-4% in the Mediterranean populations. Different GJB2 mutations were reported in the Moroccan patients with autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss; however, rare studies were carried out on the carrier frequencies of these mutations in the healthy populations.

Microbial quality control of raw ground beef and fresh sausage in Casablanca (Morocco).

In this study, samples of raw ground beef (n = 150) and fresh sausage (n = 100) were collected randomly from butcheries, supermarkets, and fast-food shops, in Casablanca, Morocco. Two types of meat product samples were considered, one with spices (n = 115) and other without spices (n = 135). All the samples were analyzed for the presence of the following bacteria: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes.

Absence of GJB3 and GJB6 mutations in Moroccan familial and sporadic patients with autosomal recessive non-syndromic deafness.

Unlabelled: Deafness is an etiologically heterogeneous trait with a wide variety of genetic and environmental causes. It is generally considered that genetic factors account for at least half of all cases of profound congenital deafness, which can be classified in two categories - dominant or recessive - according to the mode of inheritance and in two types - syndromic or non-syndromic - according to the presence or absence of some other specific clinical features. Mutations in the gene GJB2, encoding the gap junction protein connexion 26, are considered to be responsible for up to 50% of familial cases of autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing loss and for up to 15-30% of the sporadic cases.

Spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks, Morocco.

A total of 370 ticks, encompassing 7 species from 4 genera, were collected during 2002-2006 from domestic animals and vegetation in the Taza region of northeastern Morocco. Rickettsial DNA was identified in 101 ticks (27%) by sequencing PCR products of fragments of the citrate synthase and outer membrane protein genes of Rickettsia spp. Seven rickettsiae of the spotted fever group were identified, including 4 pathogens: R.

[Consumption analyze of the antihypertensive drugs in Morocco: period 1991-2005].

Introduction: The medical assumption of responsibility of the chronic diseases in Morocco, in particular arterial hypertension, remains problematic.

Objectives: To evaluate the consumption, segmentation and the share of the market of generic antihypertensive drugs during the period: 1991-2005.

Methods: The data were elaborate starting from the declarations of IMS health (Intercontinental Marketing Service) for Morocco.

Genotype determination in Moroccan hepatitis B chronic carriers.

Background: In Morocco, chronic liver disease related to hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a public health burden. Treatment of chronic hepatitis B is often complicated by the appearance of escape mutants after treatment with nucleoside analogs, especially with genotypes responsible for the more severe form of the disease.

Objectives: In the present study we investigate the prevalence of the different HBV genotypes in Morocco since no previous careful study has been attempted.

NPHIs and public goods: a perspective from Morocco.

National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) provide critical functions that protect and support public health. In Morocco, these functions are divided among three different agencies. Consolidation of these functions into a single agency would encourage a comprehensive approach to public health in Morocco, providing an environment that can support work in new areas of public health (such as chronic diseases), decreasing competition and overlap among agencies, and increasing efficiency.

New analysis of the toxic compounds from the Androctonus mauretanicus mauretanicus scorpion venom.

Scorpion venoms are very complex mixtures of molecules, most of which are peptides displaying different kinds of biological activity. Indeed, these peptides specifically bind to a variety of pharmacological targets, in particular ionic channels located in prey tissues, resulting in neurotoxic effects. Toxins modulating Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Cl(-) currents have been described in scorpion venoms.