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The latest round of Israel-HAMAS confrontations has the potentials of escalating into a larger regional conflict engulfing the Middle East, unlike any other conflict since 1973. What began on 7th October 2023 has not only kept the two principal protagonists - one state (Israel) and one non-state (HAMAS) - in a conflict mode, it has also drawn in HAMAS' strategic ally-the Lebanese militia Hizballah and the Houthi militia from Yemen and, in March 2024, even dragged in the Islamic Republic of Iran, HAMAS' most important patron, into the vortex of the conflict. The international community (led by Israel's firmest ally - the USA, and the countries of Europe - as much as the Arab and non-Arab neighbours in the Middle East) have been desperate to prevent any further escalation of the conflict and all signs so far indicate that Israel and Iran are equally keen to do the same. Yet the escalatory potential of the ongoing Gaza conflict is quite considerable, and can broaden to acquire a dimension that could be devastating to not only the immediate protagonists, but also those living way beyond the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study is the first to describe major epidemiological trends and clinical characteristics among Israeli men who have sex with men (MSM), who are at a higher risk for HIV infection.Methods: This retrospective study includes all individuals reported to the Israeli Ministry of Health with HIV and self-identified as MSM between 1981 and 2015. The incidence rates of HIV infection and AIDS-defining diseases were analyzed and Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were calculated from time of HIV infection notification to AIDS diagnosis and death across three consecutive periods representing antiretroviral treatment availability.Results: The trend of increase in HIV incidence is similar to Western Europe, although Israeli rates are lower. Of 2052 HIV/AIDS Israeli MSM diagnosed during the follow-up, 296 (14.6%) developed AIDS. MSM constitute 28.4% of all HIV/AIDS cases and 41.5% of cases among men. Average times from HIV-notification until AIDS diagnosis were 15.5 [14.0-16.9], 16.0 [15.5-16.4], and 6.7 [6.7-6.8] years, within 1981-1996, 1997-2007, and 2008-2015, respectively. The HIV-incidence rate among Israeli MSM slightly declined from 2012, after peaking in 2011 at 6.2 per 100,000.Conclusions: The recent reduction in HIV-incidence and in AIDS diagnoses among Israeli MSM is encouraging. Nevertheless, the disproportionate incidence of HIV among MSM requires sustained efforts to abate further infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial evidence supports a role for dysfunction of brain serotonergic (5-HT) systems in the pathogenesis of major affective disorder, both unipolar (recurrent major depression) and bipolar.(1) Modification of serotonergic neurotransmission is pivotally implicated in the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs(2) and also in the action of mood stabilizing agents, particularly lithium carbonate.(3) Accordingly, genes that code for the multiple subtypes of serotonin receptors that have been cloned and are expressed in brain,(4) are strong candidates for a role in the genetic etiology of affective illness. We examined a structural variant of the serotonin 2C (5-HT2C) receptor gene (HTR2C) that gives rise to a cysteine to serine substitution in the N terminal extracellular domain of the receptor protein (cys23ser),(5) in 513 patients with recurrent major depression (MDD-R), 649 patients with bipolar (BP) affective disorder and 901 normal controls. The subjects were drawn from nine European countries participating in the European Collaborative Project on Affective Disorders. There was significant variation in the frequency of the HT2CR ser23 allele among the 10 population groups included in the sample (from 24.6% in Greek control subjects to 9.2% in Scots, chi(2) = 20.9, df 9, P = 0.01). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that over and above this inter-population variability, there was a significant excess of HT2CR ser23 allele carriers in patients compared to normal controls that was demonstrable for both the MDD (chi(2) = 7.34, df 1, P = 0.006) and BP (chi(2) = 5.45, df 1, P = 0.02) patients. These findings support a possible role for genetically based structural variation in 5-HT2C receptors in the pathogenesis of major affective disorder.