Revue des principales caractéristiques du

Les connaissances sur le 237Np, dont l'utilisation est croissante dans l'industrie nucléaire, sont très diverses et disparates. Ce radioélément possède une toxicité radiologique et chimique, cependant les thérapies classiques par DTPA ou diurétiques sont inefficaces, voire dangereuses, lors d'une contamination par le neptunium et il n'existe pas encore de traitement efficace. Une revue de la littérature sur les principales caractéristiques du 237Np (physico-chimie, biocinétique, toxicité, traitements actuels) est proposée

New treatment options for lupus – a focus on belimumab

Laurent Chiche1,2, Noémie Jourde3, Guillemette Thomas1, Nathalie Bardin2, Charleric Bornet4, Albert Darque4, Julien Mancini51Department of Internal Medicine, Centre de Compétence Maladies Auto-immunes Systémiques PACA Ouest, 2Laboratory of Immunology, 3Department of Nephrology, 4Department of Pharmacy, Hôpital de la Conception, Marseille; 5Department of Public Health, Hôpital de la Timone, Marseille, FranceAbstract: Belimumab is the first biologic approved for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Belimumab is the first of a new class of drug targeting B cell-stimulating factors or their receptors to reach the market. Its target, BLyS, also known as BAFF (B cell-activating factor from the tumor necrosis factor family), is a type II transmembrane protein that exists in both membrane-bound and soluble forms. Additionally to a robust rational from murine experiments conducted in lupus prone mice, BLyS circulating levels are increased in SLE patients. After the negative results of a Phase II trial, two Phase III trials met their primary endpoints. Some SLE patients are still refractory to the standard options of care or necessitate prolonged high-dose corticotherapy and/or long-term immunosuppressive regimens. However, some experts still feel that the effect of this biologic might not be clinically relevant and blame the use of the new systemic lupus response index as well as the discrepancies between both trials and the noninclusion of the severe form of the disease as nephritis. In this review, we aim to discuss the characteristics of belimumab, critically evaluate the different steps of its development, and consider its future place in the arsenal against SLE, taking into account the patients’ perspectives.Keywords: systemic lupus erythematosus, belimumab, treatment, monoclonal antibodies, adverse effects, BLy

Ceramics with metallic lustre decoration. A detailed study of Islamic productions from the 9th century until the Renaissance

Nous remercions l'éditeur EDP Sciences qui nous a donné l'autorisation de mettre en ligne cet article qui est une version légèrement modifiée de ce document déjà déposé sur HAL : http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00554837/fr/International audienceThis paper describes research on the technological evolution of glazed ceramics with a metallic lustre decoration starting from their emergence in the Near East until the Hispano-Moresque productions. That research covers the main known Islamic production sites and periods: Abbasid (Mesopotamia); Fatimid (Egypt); Timurid, Mongol, and Safavid (Iran); Ayyubid and Mamluk (Syria); Nasrid and Hispano-Moresque (Spain). It was allowed by the access to more than hundred full preserved objects or fragments supplied by French national museums (musée du Louvre DAI, musée national du Moyen-Âge, musée national de Céramique). The characterisation of the composition and structure of the ceramics and of their decoration is mostly done through non-destructive analyses methods. The thickness and metal content of the surface lustre layers are quantified thanks to ion beam analyses performed on a particle accelerator: PIXE (particle-induced X-ray emission) for the terracotta and glazes composition and RBS (Rutherford backscattering spectrometry) for the thickness and metal content of the lustre surface layers. The preliminary results show that the features of the decorated ceramics have undergone dramatic variations when transmitted from a production to another, not only, as expected, in the composition of terracotta and glazes, but also in the thickness, the structure and the composition distribution of the lustre layers

Hépatite C en milieu psychiatrique : un réservoir oublié ?

International audienceHepatitis C is a transmissible hepatic and extra-hepatic disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV develops into a chronic infection among approximately 70% of the contaminated subjects. Chronic HCV infection is estimated to affect between 0.5% and 1 % of the general population in France, which causes an important burden of disease, in particular due to the occurrence of cirrhosis and liver cancer. New antiviral drugs now allow to cure more than 95% of patients in just a few weeks of treatment with very limited safety issues. This therapeutic revolution has led the World Health Organization and many national governments to aim for an elimination of HCV, which has been defined as a 90%-reduction of the incidence rate, and a 65%-reduction in the number of HCV-related deaths on the basis of the 2015 figures. In this respect, the French Ministry of Health has recently decided to extend the ability to prescribe the new antiviral drugs to any physician. However, the elimination campaign of HCV will also need to correctly identify, screen, and treat the main target populations. If people who inject drugs (PWIDs) certainly constitute the most important population concerned by the challenge of HCV elimination, more hidden reservoirs in which HCV transmission can insidiously evolve should be identified and specifically targeted as well. Inpatient psychiatric populations might constitute one of these hidden reservoirs. International data suggest that chronic HCV infection affects approximately 5% of psychiatric inpatients in Europe. This very high prevalence estimate can in part be due to the very frequent psychiatric disorders found among the current or former PWIDs. However, a part of the seropositive patients does not report a history of drug use, and other factors could contribute to the increased risk of contamination in this population including atypical routes of transmission related to institutional promiscuity. Exploring the general profile and risk-behaviors of the psychiatric inpatients found infected by the HCV is thus warranted for future studies. Screening and treating HCV in the specific population of psychiatric patients is part of the general public health objective of eliminating HCV at a national level. Moreover, it also directly fits into the individualized psychiatric care. Many recent data suggest that HCV also has a neural tropism, in particular within glial cells, such as astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. As such, HCV foments inflammatory processes in the brain and contributes to cognitive impairments and psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety or depression. At the individual level, treating HCV infection can improve the psychiatric state and increase patients' outcomes in terms of well-being and quality of life. For all these reasons, the field of psychiatry needs local and national actions for informing and training professionals about HCV screening and treating modalities. Patient and family associations also need to be involved in this general effort of micro-elimination. A key role should be assigned to the general practitioners embedded within inpatient psychiatric units. They are the best fitted professionals to screen, treat, and empower patients, to inform and train other caregivers of the psychiatric field, and to act as a relay with hepatology teams if required. Hospital pharmacists are other important stakeholders. In a national context in which the funding of psychiatric care, including medications, is based on predefined funding envelops, innovative initiatives will have to be set up by local or national health authorities, in partnership with pharmacists, to allow for the treatment of psychiatric inpatients. In conclusion, the world of psychiatry is a possible hidden reservoir of HCV and, as such, a part of the challenge for eliminating the virus. Patients, families, and caregivers will have to be correctly sensitized and trained to play their role in the process. Specific investigations will be required to better understand why such an increased prevalence of HCV is observed in this population. Specific adaptations of the cascade of care within psychiatric settings, including access to treatment, will need to be designed, implemented, and evaluated for reaching micro-elimination of HCV in psychiatry

Applications of SIMS to cultural heritage studies

This paper discusses the use of secondary ion mass spectrometry in cultural heritage studies recently reported in the literature, and includes material on the analysis of pigments, glass and metals. Applications of depth profiling, imaging, speciation and the topic of ultra-low energy SIMS depth profiling are addressed. (c) 2006. Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Erratum to: Intradermal injection of a Tat Oyi-based therapeutic HIV vaccine reduces of 1.5 log copies/mL the HIV RNA rebound median and no HIV DNA rebound following cART interruption in a phase I/II randomized controlled clinical trial

International audienc