FMF and Atheroscelerosis

Familial Mediteranean Fever in Upper Egypt, and Its Relation to Atherosclerosis in Children

The aim of this study is to search for subclinical atherosclerosis in children diagnosed as FMF in Assiut University children's Hospital, and to correlate the risk to develop atherosclerosis to the different characters and genetic variants of FMF.

• To describe the clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed as FMF in Upper Egypt, and to find the most common presenting symptoms.
• To mention the most common genetic variants reported in FMF patients in Upper Egypt, and to correlate the genetic variant with the risk to develop atherosclerosis.
• To assess the growth parameters in patients with FMF and compare it with the control group.
• To estimate the differences in Complete blood count (CBC) parameters, lipid profile, CIT in patients with FMF and control group.
• To search for subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with FMF based on their lipid profile and CIT.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age at enrollment less than18 years.
2. Both sexes.
3. Diagnosed as familial Mediterranean fever according to Tel Hashomer criteria. [10]

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with acute or chronic active infections.
2. Patients with pre-existing illness as chronic lung, liver or renal diseases.
3. Patients with diabetes mellitus, atherosclerotic vascular disease.
4. Patients with malignancy