(B)ordering South of Lebanon: Hizbullah’s identity building strategy

International audienceThis paper examines the importance of the Lebanese southern borderland area in the political strategy of Hizbullah's identity building. It highlights how Hizbullah succeeded in its quest to become a major political player in Lebanon by using South Lebanon. The main hypothesis is that this borderland area has been ordered and bordered by Hizbullah to create a common identity among the Lebanese Shi'i population based on a Shi'i religious involvement and the " duty " of armed resistance against Israel. To support this idea, I will rely on a theoretical framework articulating space and identity building and will refer to concepts provided by Middle Eastern studies. In the first part of the paper, I will discuss the conditions of the emergence of the group of solidarity and how it articulates to the religious Shi'i ideology. Then, I will highlight the " lebanonization " process Hizbullah undertaken at the end of the civil war and how during the 1990s it transformed the South into a sanctuary. Finally, I will show how Hizbullah enforced the national legitimacy of its social, political and military actions before targeting the state apparatus

Les manifestations neurologiques de la maladie de Behçet : analyse d’une série de 27 patients

International audiencePurpose. – To describe epidemiological and clinical characteristics of neurological involvement in Behçet’s disease (BD) and to determine a subgroup of patients at high risk for this complication.Patients and methods. – The medical notes of 105 patients with BD fulfilling the criteria of the international Study Group for Behçet’s disease were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence (group 1) or not (group 2) of neurological and/or psychiatric involvement attributable to BD. The epidemiological, clinical and genetic (HLA B51 and MICA 6 frequency) features in the two groups were analysed and compared using the Kruskall-Wallis and the chi-square tests.Results. – Twenty-seven patients (25.7%) had clinical evidence of neurological involvement. They were 20 men and 7 women. The mean age at neurological onset was 34.26 ± 8.79 years. Nineteen patients (70.3%) had meningoparenchymal “MP” central nervous system involvement (brainstem: 9, hemispheric involvement: 6, spinal cord: 4, psychiatric involvement: 2, isolated pyramidal signs: 1, aseptic meningitis:1). Seven patients (25.9%) had cerebral large vessels involvement that is cerebral angio-Behçet “CAB” (intracranial hypertension: 5 cases due to cerebral venous thrombosis: 3 and pseudotumor cerebri: 2, cerebral haemorrhage: 1, cerebral arterial thrombosis: 1). One patient (3.7%) had both “MP” and “CAB” involvement. Headache was significantly more frequent in non-parenchymal patients. In group 1, complete recovery or improvement with mild neurological impairment was seen in 13 cases, improvement with severe disability in 3 cases, worsening in 1case, the course was stationary in 1 case and 3 patients died (11.2%). Arterial aneurysms were significantly more frequent in “CAB” subgroups than in subgroup 2.Conclusion. – Frequency of neurological involvements in BD was high in our study. Arterial aneurysms seem to be a risk factor to these complications. Cerebral angio-Behçet appears to be a protector factor against uveitis.Propos. – Analyser les caractéristiques cliniques de l’atteinte neurologique au cours de la maladie de Behçet (MB) et déterminer un sous-groupe de patients à haut risque pour cette complication.Patients et méthodes. – Cent cinq dossiers de patients atteints d’une MB répondant aux critères diagnostiques du groupe international d’étude sur la MB ont été rétrospectivement revus. Les patients ont été divisés en 2 groupes selon l’existence (groupe 1) ou non (groupe 2) de manifestations neurologiques et/ou psychiatriques attribuées à la MB. Les différentes caractéristiques cliniques et génétiques (HLA-B51 et MICA A6) ont été comparées au moyen des test de Kruskall Wallis et du χ2.Résultats. – Vingt-sept patients (25,7 %) ont présenté des manifestations neurologiques. Il s’agissait de 20 hommes et 7 femmes ayant un âge moyen de 34,26 ± 8,79 ans. Dix-neuf patients (70,3 %) avaient une atteinte centrale méningoparenchymateuse « MP » (tronc cérébral : 9, hémisphères cérébraux : 6, moelle : 4, atteinte psychiatrique : 2, syndrome pyramidal isolé : 1, méningite aseptique isolée : 1). Sept patients (25,9 %) avaient une atteinte des gros vaisseaux cérébraux qualifiée d’angio-Behçet cérébral (ABC) (hypertension intracrânienne : 5 cas dont 3 par thromboses veineuses cérébrales et 2 « idiopathiques », 1 thrombose artérielle cérébrale et 1 hémorragie cérébroméningée). Un patient (3,7 %) avait les 2 types d’atteinte. Parmi les signes cliniques les céphalées étaient significativement plus fréquentes dans le groupe « MP ». Dans le groupe 1, l’évolution des manifestations neurologiques (précisée dans 21 cas) s’est faite vers la rémission complète ou avec des séquelles minimes dans 13 cas, la persistance de séquelles importantes dans 3 cas, l’aggravation dans 1 cas et la non-amélioration dans 1 cas ; trois patients sont décédés. Aucun élément clinique ou paraclinique n’avait de valeur pronostique significative dans le groupe 1. Par comparaison au groupe 2, les anévrismes étaient significativement plus fréquents dans le sous-groupe « ABC ». L’uvéite était plus fréquente dans le sous-groupe « ABC » que dans le sous-groupe « MP » de façon significative et que le groupe 2 mais avec une différence à la limite de la signifiance.Conclusion. – La fréquence de l’atteinte neurologique dans la MB est élevée dans notre série (25,7 %). Les anévrismes artériels semblent constituer un facteur de risque pour l’angio-Behçet cérébral. L’angio-Behçet cérébral paraît protéger les patients contre l’uvéite

Amyloidosis in Behcet′s disease

Behcet′s disease (BD) is a multisystem vasculitis with protean manifestations. It is characterized by a heightened state of inflammation, although the factors that initiate and sustain this inflammation are not clear. We report some cases of BD-associated amyloidosis and have similar features. The patients developed nephrotic syndrome due to secondary amyloidosis, which was refractory to the immunosuppressive agents. Two patients expired and the third was lost to follow-up during the course. The BD complicated with amyloidosis is associated with high mortality despite the current aggressive therapy

The modulation effect of green tea and pumpkin oils on hyperlipidemia, oxidative stress, and hematological abnormalities in an experimental multiple sclerosis rat model

Abstract Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory condition that can impair the body’s physiological functions. Although many diseases have been successfully treated with herbal treatments for a long time, the majority of the herbs utilized have unclear mechanisms. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the modulation effects of green tea oil (GTO) and pumpkin oil (PO) on hyperlipidemia, oxidative stress, and hematological abnormalities in an experimental multiple sclerosis rat model. Methods Forty albino male Wistar rats (weighing 120–140 g) were divided into four groups of six each: group 1, the control group; group 2, the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-injected group; and groups 3 and 4, the MOG-injected groups treated with GTO and PO at 5 mg/kg b.w., respectively. At the end of the experiments, animals were anesthetized with diethyl ether inhalation, and blood samples were collected from the jugular vein. A Beckman Coulter was then used to determine the differential complete blood counts. The obtained serum was rapidly collected and stored at 20 °C to assess the lipid profile and oxidative stress and antioxidant biomarkers. Results Our findings showed that GTO and PO treatment produced a significant reduction in total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and very low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C) levels. Furthermore, GTO and PO treatment alleviated the elevated cardiovascular risk indices 1 and 2. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) concentration significantly decreased and glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels significantly increased in rats injected with MOG and treated with GTO and PO. Furthermore, after GTO and PO treatment, the reduced red blood cells (RBCs) count, hemoglobin content (Hb%), lymphocyte percentage, and hematocrit (HCT) of MOG-injected rats increased, while the elevated white blood cells (WBCs), platelet, and neutrophil percentage substantially declined. Conclusion Collectively, our research revealed that GTO and PO may be capable of modulating hyperlipidemia, oxidative stress, and hematological abnormalities in the MS rat model

Successful treatment of refractory adult onset Still’s disease with rituximab

Adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) is an uncommon inflammatory condition of unknown origin. In chronic disease, joint involvement is often predominant and erosions are noted in one third of patients. Therapeutic strategies derive from observational data. Corticosteroids are usually the first-line treatment. With inadequate response to corticosteroids, methotrexate appears the best choice to control disease activity and allow for tapering of steroid use. For refractory disease, biological therapy seems the most promising. We report here the case of a 38-year-old female patient with AOSD refractory to cytotoxic agents, treated by rituximab infusion therapy with favorable outcome