Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that remains an important public health problem at the global level. It is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality, due to the emergence of antibiotic resistant Mycobacterium strains and HIV co-infection. Over the past decade, important progress has been made for better control of the disease. While microscopy and culture continue to be indispensible for laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis, the range of several molecular diagnostic tests, including the nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS), have expanded tremendously. They are becoming more accessible not only for detection and identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in clinical specimens, but now extend to diagnosing multi-drug resistant strains. Molecular diagnostic tests provide timely results useful for high-quality patient care, low contamination risk, and ease of performance and speed. This review focuses on the current diagnostic tests in use, including emerging technologies used for detection of tuberculosis in clinical specimens. The sensitivity and specificity of these tests have also been taken into consideration.

Despite major strides in the prevention, diagnosis and management of tuberculosis, the disease continues to be one of the most pressing global health problems, particularly in developing countries. The purpose of the present study was to describe the epidemiological profile among tuberculosis patients in Laayoune, Morocco. a retrospective study was conducted among tuberculosis patients (having extrapulmonary tuberculosis and pulmonary tuberculosis), registered in the diagnosis of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases reference center of Laayoune, between January 2017 and May 2018. Demographic characteristics, clinical presentation of TB and apparent risk factors of the disease were obtained from the medical case records of all patients. during the study period, a total of 211 patients (125 males and 86 females) with tuberculosis were enrolled. The majority of cases (93.40%) were newly diagnosed and the segment with the pulmonary tuberculosis was 63.50%. The highest disease burden was found in the ≥15 year age group (92.40%; p=0.022). Men were more frequently affected by pulmonary tuberculosis (70.90%), while extrapulmonary tuberculosis was more commonly detected in women (61%) (p<0.0001). The most common sites of extrapulmonary disease were lymphatic (32.47%), pleural (16.88%) and spinal tuberculosis (15.58%). HIV infection and smoking seem to be the most important risk factors that affect host defense against TB infection. the results obtained in tuberculosis patients in Laayoune, Morocco, showed that active tuberculosis was associated with risk factors such as sex, age and smoking.

The objective of this work is the preparation of nanocapsules which are intended for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We use Argan oil as vehicle of hydrophobic drugs such as indomethacin. Nanoprecipitation technique was used like a method for preparation of nanocapsules, where polycaprolactone, acetone, and Argan oil are used as polymer, solvent, and carrier, respectively. Primarily, investigation of Argan oil amount addition was performed; then systematic study to optimize the formulation was done. Nanocapsules containing indomethacin (loaded nanocapsules) and others without indomethacin (blank nanocapsules) were characterized by studying particles size, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency. It is shown that particle size ranged between 290 nm and 350 nm. The zeta potential values were negative (from −40 up to −50 mV) while encapsulation efficiency ranged between 65 and 75%.