ABSTRACT
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is known to cause pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis. In Morocco, the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) has become a major challenge. Here, we announce the draft genome sequences of two Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, MTB1 and MTB2, isolated from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Morocco, to describe variants associated with drug resistance.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that hypovitaminosis D contributes to the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate whether vitamin D levels are associated with having MS and some of its characteristics in the Moroccan population. METHODS: Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, the 25(OH)D3 metabolite was measured to quantify vitamin D serum levels (DSLs) in 113 patients with MS and 146 healthy controls matched for gender and age. DSLs were then compared between patients and controls, with correlations sought between DSLs and gender, age at onset, disease duration, MS type, degree of disability (EDSS score) and disease severity (MSSS) in patients. RESULTS: Hypovitaminosis D (DSL<30ng/mL) was observed in 97.3% of MS patients and in 98.6% of controls. Although the mean DSL was slightly lower in patients (11.69±6.97ng/mL) than in controls (12.98±6.58ng/mL), there was no significant association between DSL and MS status (P=0.131). Similarly, among patients, no apparent association was found between DSL and MS type (P=0.214), EDSS score (P=0.076) or MSSS (P=0.772). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that DSL is not associated with having MS nor with MS type, degree of disability or disease severity in the Moroccan population. On the other hand, DSL was lower in women and decreased with age.
Subject(s)
Multiple Sclerosis/blood , Nutritional Status , Vitamin D Deficiency/blood , Vitamin D/blood , Adult , Age of Onset , Aging , Calcifediol/blood , Case-Control Studies , Disability Evaluation , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Morocco , Multiple Sclerosis/complications , Reference Values , Severity of Illness Index , Sex FactorsABSTRACT
Here, we describe the annotated genome sequence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis MTB13_M. The organism was isolated from a sputum sample in Morocco.
ABSTRACT
The aim of our study was to determine fluorides (F-) content in the well water consumed as drinking water by some Moroccan populations in rural areas. All samples were collected between April and October 2011. Measurements were performed by an ion selective electrode. Thirty wells spread to cover most of the country and locally chosen based on the number of inhabitants who consume its water. All wells were in rural areas. The mean (+/- SD) of F- was 1.84 +/- 1.6 mg/L with a range from 0.42 to 8.95 mg/L Concentrations of F- in phosphate regions were higher than those found in other regions. More than half of the samples exceeded the current standard. Our study showed that water of some Moroccan regions is naturally rich in F-exposing people who consume it at high risk of fluorosis.
