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Adipose tissue is an important endocrine organ that secretes a number of adipokines, like Leptin (LEP). The aim this study was to investigate the prevalence of single nucleotide polymorphisms in LEP gene (LEP 3′UTR A/C, −2548 G/A) and LEPR (K109R and Q223R) and their association with Leptin level and obesity. We recruited 169 non‐obese (body mass index [BMI] = 24.51‐3.69 kg/m(2)) and 160 obese (BMI = 36‐4.78 kg/m(2)) patients. Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism, BMI was calculated, and Leptin level was measured by ELISA. Statistical analyses were performed by spss19.0. According to LEP 3′UTR A/C polymorphism, AC and CC genotype carriers had higher Leptin levels than AA genotype carriers, respectively, 31[0.05‐148.8] (P = .008) vs 41[0.05‐111.6] (P = .003). The K109R polymorphism was associated with obesity (P = .025) and seems to significantly decrease the LEP levels (P

Background.Using Micral-test (MT) for screening microalbuminuria (MA) among type 2 diabetics (T2D) is helpful. We aimed at determining prevalence of MA and at describing the MT validity.Methods.We studied 182 T2D followed up in family medicine. Two 24-hour urinary quantitative assays of MA had been used as a gold standard.Results. Prevalence of MA was 23%, CI 95%: 16.9–29.1. MT validity was 77% for sensitivity, 88% for negative predictive value, and 0.2 for Kappa coefficient (p=0.001). Among subjects having a blood pressure ≥130/80 mmHg, having a CHT/HDL ratio ≥ 3, being a T2D for more than 5 years, and being women, negative predictive values were, respectively, 91%, 89%, 95%, and 91%. The area under the ROC curve was 0.81 in men (p=0.008) and 0.80 when diabetes duration exceeds 5 years (p=0.001). The MA value at 100% Sp for MT was 35 mg/L.Conclusion.The use of MT in primary healthcare for yearly screening for MA in T2D must be accentuated especially when diabetes duration exceeds 5 years or when associated with other cardiovascular risks.

We investigated the synergism between variants at the PPARγ locus (C161T and Pro12Ala polymorphisms) with insulin resistance on metabolic syndrome (MS). Five hundred twenty-two subjects were investigated for biochemical and anthropometric measurements. The diagnosis of MS was based on the IDF definition (2009). The HOMA 2 was used to determine HOMA-β, HOMA-S, and HOMA-IR from FPG and FPI concentrations. PCR-RFLP was performed for DNA genotyping. We showed that carriers of the Pro/Pro had a significantly higher FPG, FPI, and HOMA-IR. In addition, Pro/Pro subjects also display reduced HOMA-β and HOMA-S together compared to X/Ala (Pro/Ala and Ala/Ala) subjects. Furthermore, subjects with C/C have a significantly lower FPG, FPI, and HOMA-IR and higher HOMA-S compared to X/T (C/T and T/T) subjects. The C/C genotype carriers with an Ala allele group had significantly reduced FPG, FPI, HOMA-IR, and TG and elevated HOMA-S and HOMA-β than the different genotype combinations. We suggest that the haplotype composed of the C/C genotype carriers with an Ala allele of PPARγ2 group enhances susceptibility to the MS in a central Tunisian population.

AIMS Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that regulates the gene expression of the key proteins involved in lipid metabolism, vascular inflammation, and proliferation. PPARγ may contribute toward attenuation of atherogenesis. We investigated the relationship of the Pro 12 Ala PPARγ2 polymorphism with the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) assessed by Gensini score (Gs). MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 239 patients and 244 control individuals were investigated for clinical, biochemical, anthropometric, and angiographic information. Standard definitions were used to diagnose patients with acute coronary syndrome. The Gs system was used to calculate the severity of CAD. The computer model Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA) 2 was used to determine β-cell function (HOMA-β), insulin sensitivity (HOMA-S), and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). PCR-RFLP was performed for DNA genotyping for Pro 12 Ala in the PPARγ2 polymorphism. RESULTS Allele frequencies were 0.842 for the Pro allele and 0.158 for the Ala allele. The diseased vessel number was lower in patients with the Ala allele than others. The Gs tended to be lower in patients with the Ala allele than in others [10 (8-16) vs. 24 (16-32), P

Exposure to pesticides can represent a potential risk to humans. Agricultural workers are at risk of chronic toxicity. Hence, the evaluation of pesticide residues in their blood gives an indication about the extent of exposure and help in assessing adverse health effects. The aim of our study was to develop analytical method for the simultaneous determination of some residues of pesticides using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This method involves a liquid-liquid extraction procedure. Pesticide residues were separated and detected using GC-MS, and acquisition was performed in the sellected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. For most of the pesticides, average recoveries ranged between 65 and 101% at three different fortification levels. The linearity of the method was satisfactory in the range of 5 to 50 ng/ml, with a correlation coefficient between 0.998 and 0.999, depending on the analyte. The estimated limit of detection and limit of quantification ranged from 2 to 5 ng/ml and from 5 to 10 ng/ml, respectively. The method precision and accuracy were found to be satisfactory at three concentration levels. The variation coefficients of intra-day and inter-day precision ranged from 0.4 to 14% and from 2.5 to 15%, respectively for most studied pesticides.Keywords: Analytical methods, human serum, GC-MS, pesticide residues, validation

The aim of our study was to demonstrate the suitability of urinary cotinine and plasma thiocyanates (SCN − )a s indicators of tobacco smoking and to investigate the correlation among urinary cotinine, plasma and urine SCN − and number of cigarettes smoked per day and smoking topography. The initial study was conducted with 256 individuals: 143 nonsmokers aged 44.20 ± 15.81 years and 113 current smokers aged 38.02 ± 17.49 years. Subjects were classified into smokers or nonsmokers based on a questionnaire. Cotinine levels were measured using the enzymatic colorimetric method and SCN − using selective electrodes. Urinary cotinine and plasma SCN − levels are both significantly higher in smokers than in nonsmokers and correlate well with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Urinary cotinine was significantly correlated with duration of consumption (F3−109 =3 .43;p = 0.019; r = 0.9961), and there was a negative correlation between body mass index and urinary cotinine (r = 0.9989, p < 0.05). Urinary cotinine and plasma SCN − levels discriminate between smokers and nonsmokers and increase when smoking exceeds 20 cigarettes/day and duration of consumption exceeds 5 years.