Correlation between the plasma fibrinogen concentration and coronary heart disease severity in Moroccan patients with type 2 diabetes. Prospective study.

AIM: The present study aims at determining the relationship between the plasma fibrinogen concentration and the severity of coronary heart disease in type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: Prospective analytical survey, based on a sample of 120 subjects divided in four groups: 30 non diabetic coronary patients (G1), 30 coronary diabetic patients (G2), 30 non-coronary diabetic patients (G3), and 30 healthy subjects (G4). RESULTS: The average age was 59.58±7.88 years; female gender predominated by 52.5%. The plasma fibrinogen concentration corresponded to 3.46g/L±0.86 in G1; 3.73g/L±1.11 in G2; 3.06g/L±0.98 in G3 and 2.46g/L±0.51 in G4; with a significant difference between the four groups (P=0.001). The plasma fibrinogen concentration increased in parallel with the cardiovascular risk (P=0.0001); there was also a significant correlation between the plasma fibrinogen concentration and the clinical and para-clinical coronary disease severity (respectively P=0.005 and P=0.0001). A positive correlation between the plasma fibrinogen concentration and hyperglycemia (P=0.035) was found in G4. But no correlation with the lipids parameters, except for the low density-lipoproteins in G3 (P=0.035). CONCLUSION: In the Moroccan population, the plasma fibrinogen concentration was positively and significantly correlated with the coronary heart disease severity.

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. In this work, we have used several specific antibodies raised against the most lethal scorpion toxins already described to screen the Moroccan scorpion Androctonus mauretanicus mauretanicus venom in order to characterize new compounds. This immunological screening was also implemented by toxicity tests in mice and with mass spectrometry study, providing new informations on the molecular composition of this venom. In fine, we were able to determine the molecular masses of 70-80 different compounds. According to the immunological data obtained, many toxins cross-react with three sera raised against the most lethal alpha-toxins found in North African scorpion venoms, but not at all with those raised against the main beta-toxins from South and North American venoms. Some of the previously described toxins from Androctonus mauretanicus mauretanicus venom could thus be detected by combining immunological tests, toxicity in mice and molecular masses. Among these toxins, one of them, which showed a mild cross-reaction with the serum raised against AaH I (a highly potent toxin from the venom of Androctonus australis), was identified as Amm III and fully sequenced.