[Neurological manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency: a retrospective study of 26 cases]. / Les troubles neurologiques par carence en vitamine B12: étude rétrospective de 26 cas.

PURPOSE: Neurological symptoms of B12 vitamin deficiency are polymorph. Causes are dominated by Biermer's disease and B12 vitamin non dissociation that is frequent in the elderly. METHODS: We realized a retrospective study during 11 years. Patients with neurological symptoms associated to megaloblastosis were included. Treatment with B12 vitamin lead to haematological manifestation regression. RESULTS: 26 cases were analyzed. Mean age was 50+/-14.5 years and there were 11 women and 15 men. Neurological signs included combined medullar sclerosis (N = 10), peripheral neuropathy (N = 10), isolated paresthesia (N = 5) and inferior limb pyramidal syndrome (N = 1). Neurological signs revealed vitamin B12 deficiency in 4 cases. Mean haemoglobin rate was 6.2+/-2.6 g/dl, mean MCV was 109+/-56 fl. Eight patients had macrocytic anaemia, nine bi-cytopenia and eight deep pancytopenia. Electromyography (N = 8) confirmed neuropathy and medullar MRI (N = 2) showed antero-posterior cordonal demyelinisation of cervico-dorsal medulla. Causes of B12 vitamin deficiency were Biermer's disease (N = 11), non dissociation of B12 vitamin's syndrome (N = 8) and partial gastrectomy (N = 1). In 6 patients, no aetiology was found. Treatment with parenteral vitamin B12 induced neurological symptoms regression in 14 cases. Patient with neurological disorder had significantly higher platelet count and haemoglobin level as compared with patients without neurological disorder. Reticulocyte crisis was more precocious in patients with neurological disorders. CONCLUSION: Neurological symptoms in vitamin B12 deficiency are frequent. We insist on isolated forms, inaugural forms and on the interest of medullar MRI for early diagnosis.

[Takayasu's disease in Morocco. Report of 47 cases]. / La maladie de Takayasu au Maroc. A propos de 47 observations.

PURPOSE: Takayasu's disease is a chronic inflammatory arteritis involving large vessels in young women. We studied Moroccan patients to evaluate clinical, biological, radiological and evolution features of this disease in our country. METHODS: Forty-seven patients with Takayasu's arteritis were studied retrospectively between 1988 et 1999. RESULTS: In our series involvement of the aortic arch and its branches was more frequent than the abdominal aorta and its branches. Stenotic lesions of renal arteries were rare. Ultrasound was useful in the diagnosis and the monitoring of the disease. Treatment with glucocorticoids gave good results, with improvement in half of the patients and remission with stabilisation in 40% of cases. Tuberculosis occurred in 8.5% of patients. CONCLUSION: The use of ultrasound and computed tomography angiography is helpful for the diagnosis and monitoring of the disease progression. Glucocorticoids help to induce long remission in about 80% of treated patients. We don't find any relationship between Takayasu's arteritis and tuberculosis.

[Association of pulmonary artery aneurysm, right heart thromboses and antiphospholipid antibodies in Behcet's disease]. / Association anévrysme de l'artère pulmonaire, thromboses intracardiaques et anticorps antiphospholipides au cours de la maladie de Behçet. A propos d'un cas.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac thromboses are unusual in the course of Behçet's disease and are frequently associated with endomyocardial fibrosis of the right heart. Vascular pulmonary involvement with either pulmonary aneurysm or parenchyma alterations is also often observed. However, pathogenesis of thromboses occurring in the course of Behçet's disease is still unclear. CASE REPORT: The authors report the case of a 28-year-old man who presented with Behçet's disease accompanied by pulmonary aneurysm, multiple thrombi of the right heart and antiphospholipid antibodies. CONCLUSION: The choice of therapeutical strategies for curative treatment of this association as well as the interpretation of the role of antiphospholipid antibodies in this polyvascular disease raises questions.

[Cholesterol crystal embolism]. / Les embolies de cristaux de cholestérol.

Cholesterol crystal emboli are a serious complication of atheroma. The incidence of this syndrome appears to be much more common in patients in their sixties with severe atheromatous disease of the aorta (20 to 30% vs less than 5%). 80% of crystal embolism result from medical interventions (aortic or cardiac surgery, arterial invasive procedure of aorta, thrombolytic therapy). Embolisation of cholesterol crystals can give rise to a confusing clinical pictures, depending of the site (organ) of the embolisation. It also can simulate a systemic disease. The diagnosis must be discuss in all atheromatous patients. The prognosis is poor because of the patient's clinical context and because there is no specific treatment. The best treatment is prevention by improving the recognition of the high risk patients and avoiding in those cases the predisposing factors.

[Cardiac involvement in Behçet's disease. 12 cases]. / Atteinte cardiaque de la maladie de Behçet. Douze observations.

Fifteen cardiac manifestations observed in 12 of a series of 196 patients with Behçet's disease are reported. In this retrospective study conducted in an internal medicine department, 5 cases of pericarditis and 4 cases of myocardial infarction were encountered. The other cardiac manifestations were observed only once. They included ventricular aneurysm, endomyocardial fibrosis of the right heart, aortic insufficiency, mitral valve insufficiency, mitral valve prolapse, and right heart failure consecutive to pulmonary arterial hypertension. There was no relationship between the severity of cardiac lesions and that of the extracardiac manifestations of the disease. Comparison of these data with those found in the literature showed that pericarditis is the most frequent pathology, but it usually regresses rapidly. Lesions of the coronary arteries, with or without myocardial infarction, consist of stenosis, occlusion or pseudoaneurysm requiring surgical treatment. Myocardial lesions (with the possibility of pseudoaneurysm) and endomyocardial right heart fibrosis are exceptional but fairly characteristic of Behçet's disease which they should suggest. Hughes-Stovin's syndrome may be complicated by pulmonary arterial hypertension, although death is generally caused by massive haemoptysis.

[Behçet disease. 162 cases]. / La maladie de Behçet. 162 observations.

We report 162 cases of Behçet's disease, seen at the Internal Medicine Unit of Ibn Sina Hospital at Rabat, between January 1983 and June 1996. This series concerned 124 men et 38 women, Moroccans, whose mean age at first hospitalization was 32 years, and mean age at disease onset was 26 years. Diagnosis of Behçet's disease was established on Mason and Barnes and/or International Study Group for Behçet's Disease criteria. There was a muco-cutaneous involvement in 100%, eye involvement in 50%, joint involvement in 45%, neurological symptoms in 43.2%, vascular involvement in 62.34%, thoracic involvement symptoms in 13%, digestive involvement in 8 cases, cardiac involvement in 5 patients, long term fever in 5 patients, and one case of amyloidosis. We compared our results to the literature and we noticed that our series had an elevated frequency of neurological involvement, mostly benign intra-cranial hypertension and deep vein thrombosis. We also found that gut involvement was particularly low.

Tuberculosis of the sternoclavicular joint. Report of two cases.

The sternoclavicular joint accounts for only 1 to 2% of all cases of peripheral tuberculous arthritis and is more often infected by pyogenic organisms than by the tubercle bacillus. We report two cases of sternoclavicular joint tuberculosis, in a 38-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman without risk factors for immune deficiency. Swelling of the joint was the presenting manifestation. Laboratory tests indicated inflammation in only one of the patients. The intradermal tuberculin test was strongly positive in both patients, whereas smears and cultures of sputum and urine samples were negative for the tubercle bacillus. Serologic tests for the human immunodeficiency virus were negative. Erosions of the affected joint were seen by computed tomography. Histological studies of a surgical biopsy specimen confirmed the diagnosis. Cultures of the biopsy specimens were negative. The outcome was favorable after treatment with rifampin, isoniazid and pyrazinamide for six months in the man and nine in the woman. Follow-ups were eight and six months, respectively, at the time of this writing. Tuberculosis of the sternoclavicular joint is extraordinarily rare and can raise diagnostic problems. The diagnosis should be considered in every patient with arthritis in a sternoclavicular joint or unexplained pain in a shoulder. Possible complications include compression or erosion of the large blood vessels at the base of the neck and migration of tuberculous abscesses to the mediastinum.