[Urinary disorders and metabolic syndrome: prospective study]. / Troubles vésicosphinctériens et syndrome métabolique: étude prospective.

OBJECTIVE: Metabolic syndrome (MS) risk factors are potentially implicated in the development of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The goals of this study were to analyze the prevalence of the LUTS in patients presenting with MS and to evaluate the correlation between the MS components and LUTS. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted on a group of 34 patients with MS according to the criteria of the NCEP ATP III. Urinary symptom profile (USP) questionnaire was used to evaluate LUTS. The physical examination included: weight, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure looking for orthostatic hypotension. The following laboratory data were obtained: fasting blood sugar, postprandial glycemia, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol. RESULTS: The mean age was 56.2 years (±9.2). Twenty of the patients (58.8%) were females. All patients underwent diabetic and hypertension therapy. The mean BMI was 30.2±4.8 and waist circumference was 107.8±9.3 cm. USP total score was 8.3±6. Besides, 29 (85.2%) patients had overactive bladder symptom, and 13 (38.2%) patients presented with urinary stress incontinence. The overactive bladder USP score was significantly correlated with age, waist circumference, BMI and postprandial glycemia. The other parameters of MS were not correlated with urinary symptoms. CONCLUSION: The most frequent urinary symptom in the MS was overactive bladder symptoms and urinary incontinence. The components of MS that influenced the USP score were abdominal obesity and hyperglycemia. The hypothesis of a link between MS and overactive bladder in diabetic patients with MS is plausible.

[Behçet's disease in women]. / La maladie de Behçet chez la femme.

PURPOSE: Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic inflammatory disease characterized, on the one hand, by the frequency of benign mucocutaneous and articular manifestations, and on the other hand by the severity of ocular, neurological, vascular and digestive manifestations which may threaten functional or vital prognosis. The male BD predominance is obvious in many retrospective studies and a few studies only have focused on BD in women. METHODS: In this study, we report the epidemiological, clinical, outcome and therapeutic data of a series of 71 female BD compared to a series of 111 male BD. This retrospective study was conducted in the internal medicine department of Monastir university hospital over a 19-year period (1990 to 2008), including all patients followed-up and treated for BD. RESULTS: The comparison of clinical manifestations of BD between men and women showed the predominance of erythema nodosum (P=0.016), necrotic pseudofolliculitis (P=0.001), and joint involvement (P=0.009) in women, while genital ulcers (P=0.039), ocular involvement (P=0.003) and vascular (P=0.002) involvement were more common in men. CONCLUSION: Our results confirmed the results of previous studies regarding the benign nature of BD in women compared to men.

Erythema nodosum revealing parathyroid carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Parathyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a rare parathyroid tumor. We report a case of PTC revealed by erythema nodosum (EN). CASE STUDY: A 53-year-old woman was admitted for EN exploration. Biology found hypercalcemia (3 mmol/L) and 184.89 ng/L parathormonemia. Histology following cervicotomy diagnosed PTC. Postoperative course was free of complications. At eight months' follow-up, there was no recurrence of EN. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: PCT is rare and life threatening. Paraneoplastic EN is rare, and has not previously been reported in association with PCT. Solid neoplasia and hemopathy should be systematically explored for in case of recurrent EN or resistance to conventional treatment.

Pulmonary embolism revealing idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis.

We describe a case of a 55-year-old man who presented with pulmonary embolism and who was found to have nephrotic syndrome due to idiopathic membranous nephropathy. There are no other signs of nephrotic syndrome such as edema.