Intérêt de l’huile essentielle du thuya de Berberie

The Barbary Thuya is an aromatic and medicinal plant used in traditional medicine in several countries including Morocco. Essential oil from the leaves of this species, predominated by bornyl acetate, α-pinene, camphor and limonene, have a high bacteriostatic and fungistatic activity.     

Composition chimique, activit�� antimicrobiennne et antioxydante de l��huile essentielle de Thymus zygis du Maroc

This work studies the chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Thymus zygis of Morocco against four bacteria, three fungi and four wood-decay fungi. The chromatographic analysis (GC/FID and GC/MS) showed that the essential oils of Thymus zygis is characterized by the presence of thymol (33.02%), o-cymene (32.02%) and ??-E-ocimene (11.90%) along with other compounds at relatively low levels: linalool (3.99%), carvacrol (2.69%), ??-pinene (2.08%), borneol (1.56%), E-caryophyllene (1.51%), 1,4-cineole (1.49%) and tricyclene (1.34%). The antioxidant activity determined by the DPPH test showd that the essential oils has a high antioxidant potential with IC 50 = 75.97±0.86 ??g/ml, compared to others species of thyme in the literature. At the concentrations studied, the essence showed a strong antibacterial and antifungal activity. This bioactivity is due mainly to the richness of this species in thymol known for its effectiveness against microbial agents.     

Pseudotumeur inflammatoire pulmonaire invasive

Inflammatory pseudotumor of the lung is an uncommon nonneoplastic tumor of unknown origin. It can mimic lung carcinoma. We report a 65-year-old man who presented with productive cough, weight loss, and a heterogeneous right apical lung condensation. This clinical and radiographic presentation suggested a malignant lung tumor. Surgery was performed and the histological examination of the surgical specimen concluded to an inflammatory pseudotumor. A pneumonectomy was performed because of the tumor extension towards the lower lobe and the mediastinum. No recurrence was observed after a 2-year follow-up. Surgery is essential to confirm the diagnosis of inflammatory pseudotumor. Complete resection is the only guarantee to prevent recurrence.     

Pain and primary lung cancer in the elderly

The study of pain in elderly patients with a primary lung cancer (PLC) deserves special attention particularly because this symptom is frequently associated with the condition and influences the management and prognosis. To study the characteristics of pain due to PLC in the elderly, we prospectively evaluated pain in all patients aged over 65 years admitted for PLC. Thirty-nine elderly patients were enrolled in 15 months (62% of all PLC). The average age was 72 years. The cancer was advanced NSCLC in most cases. Pain was present in 74.3%. It was significantly less common among those over 75 years (50% versus 85.1%; P<0.05). The pain, mild in most cases, worsened during follow-up in 55.5%. The last mean visual analogue scale score was significantly lower than the first (1.3 versus 3.6; P=0.001). The pain treatment required was based on level I in 20.6%, level II in 48.2% and level III in 31% of cases. Pain management in the elderly should be early, adequate and continued in order to preserve to a maximum the quality of life of these patients with PLC.     

Use of a Human-Like Low-Grade Bacteremia Model of Experimental Endocarditis To Study the Role of Staphylococcus aureus Adhesins and Platelet Aggregation in Early Endocarditis

Animal models of infective endocarditis (IE) induced by high-grade bacteremia revealed the pathogenic roles of Staphylococcus aureus surface adhesins and platelet aggregation in the infection process. In humans, however, S. aureus IE possibly occurs through repeated bouts of low-grade bacteremia from a colonized site or intravenous device. Here we used a rat model of IE induced by continuous low-grade bacteremia to explore further the contributions of S. aureus virulence factors to the initiation of IE. Rats with aortic vegetations were inoculated by continuous intravenous infusion (0.0017 ml/min over 10 h) with 10⁶ CFU of Lactococcus lactis pIL253 or a recombinant L. lactis strain expressing an individual S. aureus surface protein (ClfA, FnbpA, BCD, or SdrE) conferring a particular adhesive or platelet aggregation property. Vegetation infection was assessed 24 h later. Plasma was collected at 0, 2, and 6 h postinoculation to quantify the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10. The percentage of vegetation infection relative to that with strain pIL253 (11%) increased when binding to fibrinogen was conferred on L. lactis (ClfA strain) (52%; P = 0.007) and increased further with adhesion to fibronectin (FnbpA strain) (75%; P < 0.001). Expression of fibronectin binding alone was not sufficient to induce IE (BCD strain) (10% of infection). Platelet aggregation increased the risk of vegetation infection (SdrE strain) (30%). Conferring adhesion to fibrinogen and fibronectin favored IL-1β and IL-6 production. Our results, with a model of IE induced by low-grade bacteremia, resembling human disease, extend the essential role of fibrinogen binding in the initiation of S. aureus IE. Triggering of platelet aggregation or an inflammatory response may contribute to or promote the development of IE.     

Composition chimique et activité antimicrobienne des huiles essentielles de Thymus capitatus et de Thymus bleicherianus du Maroc

This work studies the chemical composition and antifungal and antibacterial activities of the essential oils of Moroccan Thymus capitatus and Thymus bleicherianus. The samples of Thymus capitatus provided the highest yield: 2.05 % as against 1.75% for Thymus bleicherianus. The chromatographic analyses (GC and GC/MS) showed that the main constituent of essential oil of Thymus capitatus is carvacrol (70.92 %), while essential oil of Thymus bleicherianus contains mainly α-terpinene (42.2%) and thymol (23.9%). Antimicrobial activity of the two essential oils was studied with respect to seven microorganisms. For essential oil of Thymus capitatus, Bacillus subtilus and Penicillium expansum were most sensitive, being inhibited as from 1/3000 v/v. As for essential oil of Thymus bleicherianus, however, all bacterial strains were inhibited at concentrations as weak as 1/2000 v/v. This bioactivity is due mainly to their high carvacrol and thymol content, substances known for their effectiveness against microbial agents. The inhibiting effect of these oils on bacterial and fungal development indicates their potential use in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.     

Founder Effect and Estimation of the Age of the c.892C>T (p.Arg298Cys) Mutation in LMNA Associated to Charcot-Marie-Tooth Subtype CMT2B1 in Families from North Western Africa

CMT2B1, an axonal subtype (MIM 605588) of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, is an autosomal recessive motor and sensory neuropathy characterized by progressive muscular and sensory loss in the distal extremities with chronic distal weakness. The genetic defect associated with the disease is, to date, a unique homozygous missense mutation, p.Arg298Cys (c.892C>T), in the LMNA gene. So far, this mutation has only been found in affected individuals originating from a restricted region of North Western Africa (northwest of Algeria and east of Morocco), strongly suggesting a founder effect. In order to address this hypothesis, genotyping of both STRs and intragenic SNPs was performed at the LMNA locus, at chromosome 1q21.2-q21.3, in 42 individuals affected with CMT2B1 from 25 Algerian families. Our results indicate that the affected individuals share a common ancestral haplotype in a region of about 1.0 Mb (1 cM) and that the most recent common ancestor would have lived about 800–900 years ago (95% confidence interval: 550 to 1300 years).