C358A missense polymorphism of the endocannabinoid degrading enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and insulin resistance in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2

Background: The polymorphism 385 C/A of FAAH has been associated with overweight and obesity. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship of polymorphism (cDNA 385 C -> A) of FAAH gene on obesity parameters in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2. Design: A population of 70 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 was analyzed. An anthropometric and biochemical nutritional assessment was performed. The statistical analysis was performed for the combined C358A and A358A as a group and wild type C358C as second group. Results: Fifty-five patients (78.7%) had genotype C358C (wild type group) and 15 (21.3%) patients C358A (14 patients, 20.6%) or A358A (1 patient, 0.7%) (mutant group). BMI (38.9 +/- 6.4 vs. 39.2 +/- 5.7, p < 0.05), weight (96.8 +/- 17.6 kg vs. 102.5 +/- 16.8 kg, p < .05), fat mass (42.1 +/- 16.1 kg. vs. 46.9 +/- 11.1 kg, p < .05), waist circumference (115.9 +/- 12.8 cm vs. 121.3 +/- 12.8 cm, p < 0.05), insulin (22.5 +/- 18.8 mUI/L vs. 33.9 +/- 17.1 UI/L, p < 0.05) and TNF-alpha (6.1 +/- 3.4 pg/mL vs. 8.4 +/- 3.2 pg/mL, p < 0.05) were higher in mutant type group than wild type. Adiponectin levels (33.3 +/- 20.8 ng/mL vs. 22.3 +/- 10.8 ng/mL, p < 0.05) were higher in wild type group than mutant type group. Conclusion: There is an association of the mutant type group A358C and A358A of FAAH with a worse cardiovascular profile (weight, body mass index, waist circumference, insulin,TNFalpha and adiponectin levels) than wild type group. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.