Microalbuminuria: a useful marker of cardiovascular disease.

Leakage of small amounts of proteins in urine has been considered since 1980s a crucial sign of early kidney disease, especially in diabetic patients. An increasing interest in microalbuminuria as a cardiovascular risk marker has been more recently considered. Many studies linked microalbuminuria to early cardiovascular disease, as a marker of endothelial dysfunction, not only in diabetic patients, but also in hypertensive patients and in general population. Microalbuminuria is considered nowadays by guidelines as a cost-effective marker of subclinical organ damage in hypertensive patients and should be checked routinely in hypertensive patients. Assessing subclinical organ damage is recommended not only at the level of screening, but also during treatment. Microalbuminuria is also considered as a treatment outcome marker and useful for understanding the ability of a given therapeutic intervention to regress organ damage or slow down its progression.

[Neuroradiological pattern of peripartum cerebro vascular disease medicating transfer to determine care unit]. / Aspects neuroradiologiques de la pathologie vasculaire cérébrale du peripartum nécessitant un transfert en milieu de réanimation.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy and puerperium are considered a period of a high risk of stroke responsible in a part of the morbidity and mortality in women. Imaging is the pivotal tool to diagnostics and care. AIM: To investigate the clinical and imaging features cerebrovascular complications during pregnancy and in post partum period. METHODS: We report a retrospective analysis of forty four patients (November 2002 - October 2010) admitted in the intensive car department of the national institute of neurology for cerebro-vascular complications during pregnancy and in post partum period. RESULTS: Cerebro-vascular imaging modalities included cerebral computed tomography (CCT) with and without contrast in 94% of cases, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 30.6% of cases completed by venous angiography MRI in 27.2% of cases and angiography MRI of Willis polygon in 11.3% of cases and by cerebral angiography in 13.6% of cases. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is diagnosed in 61.4 % of cases followed by meningo-cerebral haemorrhage (MCH) in 29.5% and finally cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) and arterial ischemia in 4.5% of cases each one. The cerebro-vascular complications are revelled in 86.3 % of the cases during the postpartum and were associated with the eclampsia or preeclampsia in 90.9 % of the cases (n=40). CCT showed typical lesions of PRES in 23 patients. It confirms the presence of hematoma in the 13 patients with MCH and find hypodense lesion in one case with ischemic stroke. CCT show direct (delta sign) and indirect signs of CVT. MRI confirms the diagnostic of PRES, when done (11 of 12 cases) and show cortical sub cortical hyper signal on T2 and FLAIR and hypo signal on T1 sequences. MRI was normal in one case. It shows hemorrhagic lesion in the 2 cases of MCH, thrombosis in the cases of CVT and ischemic lesion in the cases of ischemic stroke. CCT and MRI done within 48 hours from admission were decisive for early diagnostic and for fast and adequate care. CONCLUSION: Early recognition of stroke in peri partum by cerebral imaging is of paramount importance for prompt diagnosis and treatment to improve maternal morbidity and mortality.

[Right atrial myxoma in a patient with mood disturbances]. / Myxome geant de l'oreillette droite revelee par un trouble de l'humeur.

Cardiac myxomas represents 50% of the benign heart tumors. Right atrial myxomas are more rare than left localisations. Their major risks are in occurrence of pulmonary embolisms. The clinical features are non specific and the diagnosis is based on echocardiography. The treatment of choice for myxomas is surgical removal. We report a case of 32-year-old woman with an abnormality of the heart auscultation found when examined for humour disturbance. Echocardiography revealed a giant echogene, mass of the right atrium, prolapsing in the tricuspid orifice. Per-operative findings mentioned a mass with 10 cm of length. Anatomo-pathologic results conclude to atrial myxoma. The evolution after 8 months of surgical treatment was normalisation of heart auscultation and the improvement of the patient humour.