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The magical idiom of evil occupies an important position in numerous Christian societies. Cosmological capture refers to a historicized process through which Christian narratives and institutions attempt to integrate evil into dualist and oppositional cosmological schemas. This article begins by addressing the way that biblical stories of defeated magicians contribute to modern dynamics of cosmological capture. It then proceeds to address the role of evil in Cypriot society through narratives and descriptions of everyday rituals and events. As these narratives and rituals show, capture remains incomplete, and as evil extends beyond the limits of dualist categorization, the result is a situation of 'magical disorder': a cosmological arrangement in which evil manifests as an indifferent and inhuman force, which nevertheless conditions everyday experience and social relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare, progressive neurodegenerative disease. There is heterogeneity of clinical phenotypes while a clinical characterization of ALS in Cyprus is still lacking. The aim of this 30-year retrospective study of ALS in Cyprus is to determine the demographic characteristics of patients, the clinical features of the disease, the uptake of supportive therapies and factors influencing survival. Methods: All ALS patients seen at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics from January 1985 until July 2015 were included. Medical records of eligible patients were used for data extraction and compilation of an ALS database. Clinical features were compared between gender categories using univariate tests, while survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify prognostic factors for survival. Results: One hundred and seventy-nine ALS patients were included in the study, of whom 7 had a positive family history. Most clinical characteristics of ALS did not differ from what is observed in other European countries. However, some clinical characteristics were unique to our population, such as an increased acceptability and utilisation of supportive treatments such as gastrostomy. Conclusions: Overall, clinical characteristics of patients with ALS in the Republic of Cyprus do not differ from other European counties. Our study demonstrates a high acceptance and utilisation of supportive interventions enhancing survival, in the context of a multidisciplinary approach offered in the single tertiary centre that services the whole Cypriot ALS population. The findings of this paper are of value to the health professionals treating ALS in Cyprus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab (RTX) treatment given off-label to Cypriot patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: Clinical data from 30 MS patients ever treated with off-label RTX until mid-2018 at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics were retrospectively collected and reviewed. The heterogeneous patient cohort included patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), primary progressive MS (PPMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS). Outcome data (relapse rate and EDSS progression) as well as adverse effects for patients with a follow-up period of >12 months (n = 13) were recorded. Results: Following RTX administration, all patients with RRMS remained relapse free and had a stable or slightly improved EDSS score (mean EDSS before treatment = 6, mean EDSS at 12 months = 4.75). Patients with SPMS had a significant reduction in their relapse rate and a stabilization or slight improvement of their EDSS scores (mean EDSS before treatment = 6.25, mean EDSS at 12 months = 5.5). Only one of the patients with PPMS had a follow-up period of >12 months and his EDSS score remained unchanged. Rituximab infusions were generally well tolerated; there were only seven grade 3 or 4 adverse events recorded. Conclusion: Our results are in agreement with larger retrospective studies in which it was demonstrated that RTX was well tolerated and effective in treating RRMS and SPMS patients by reducing relapse rate and stabilizing disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: ATTRV30M amyloidosis is a lethal autosomal dominant sensorimotor and autonomic neuropathy caused by amyloid deposition composed of aggregated misfolded TTR monomers with the V30M mutation. The age of onset in patients with ATTRV30M varies in different foci and the mechanism behind it is still unknown. Methods: The tertiary neurology center following all ATTRV30M patients in Cyprus was used to collect demographic data to estimate; prevalence, incidence, penetrance, anticipation, time from disease onset to diagnosis and transplantation. Ocular, cardiac and leptomeningeal involvement in transplanted patients was explored. Correlation of C1q tagging SNPs with age of disease onset was carried out. Results: Prevalence and incidence for ATTRV30M neuropathy in Cyprus are 5.4/100,000 and 0.3/100,000 respectively. Mean age of onset is 40.6 years and anticipation is 8.3 years. Penetrance reaches 51% and 75% by the ages of 50 and 80 years respectively. In liver transplanted patients rates of ocular, cardiac and leptomeningeal involvement were estimated to be 60%, 20% and 16%, respectively. C1q polymorphisms correlated with age of disease onset. Conclusions: ATTRV30M neuropathy has a rising prevalence in Cyprus due to improved survival of patients. Late onset complications are becoming a major problem. Complement C1q appears to be a modifier in this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived in their ideal forms, rationalisation and magic might seem to oppose one another. In this paper, however, rather than placing these forces in sterile opposition, we instead explore the social and relational dynamics through which rationalisation--the dominant epistemological force of modernity--in certain cases provides the conditions of doubt, opacity, and unknowability that makes magical thinking manifest in the everyday mundane. We explore such theoretical suggestions through ethnographic research conducted in Orkney and Cyprus. By examining connections between rationalisation and magic as these historically unfolded in these two different island settings, we initially provide a depiction of how the project of rationalisation led to the decline of magic in our two fieldsites. Then, focusing on everyday manifestations of magical thinking, we nevertheless proceed to showcase how rationalisation and magic appear to sustain one other through an unresolved, generative tenson, emergent of the incapacity of the former to fully sublate the latter in its requirement to "know" the world. The trajectory of rationalisation means that there is nothing unknowable in the world, and yet, from the position of any given person, there is no knowable whole. It remains out of reach. We conclude by discussing how the tensions inherent in the relation between rationalisation and magic allow for further theorising about the dimension of unknowing that permeates contemporary public epistemologies and subjectivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare, rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease. Despite wide variability in the incidence and prevalence of ALS, there is evidence of positive temporal trends and an increase in incidence with age. The aim of this study was to conduct a detailed epidemiological investigation of ALS in Cyprus. Methods: All registered Cypriot ALS patients in the Republic of Cyprus from January 1985 until December 2014 were included. Socio-demographic information was extracted from patient files. Results: The study identified 179 ALS patients, of whom 7 had a positive family history. The mean age at onset was 58.6 years and a slight male predominance was observed. Average annual crude incidence was 1.26 cases/100,000 person-years and at the beginning of 2015, prevalence of ALS was 7.9 cases/100,000 population. Both incidence and prevalence displayed an increasing trend, even after age-standardization of incidence rates. Conclusions: Incidence, prevalence and main socio-demographic characteristics of ALS in Cyprus were similar to those of other European countries, without any geographic clustering of the disease. Additionally, an increased incidence through the years was confirmed. However, observations such as a higher male prevalence and a younger mean age of onset compared to published literature require further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]