[A case of neurological syphilis mimicking Horton's disease and polymyalgia rheumatica]. / Syphilis neurologique révélée par un tableau évocateur d'artérite temporale et de pseudopolyarthrite rhizomélique.

BACKGROUND: Syphilis has been making a comeback over the last 10 years. Neurosyphilis can occur at any stage of the infection but is difficult to diagnose because of the existence of misleading forms, of which we describe an example below. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 56-year-old woman presented symptoms evoking polymyalgia rheumatica and giant-cell arteritis in a context of ibuprofen treatment for a few weeks. She also had myodesospsia, syphilids and syphilitic roseola, together with laboratory indicators of inflammation. A lumbar puncture revealed lymphocytic meningitis and a positive Treponema Pallidum Haemagglutination Assay (TPHA) for cerebrospinal fluid, thus confirming the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. Moreover, the ophthalmologic examination showed optic neuritis with papilla lesions of syphilitic origin. This was successfully treated with a 3-week course of penicillin G infusions. CONCLUSION: Symptoms evocative of Horton's disease and polymyalgia rheumatica can reveal syphilis, a disease dubbed "the great simulator" on account of the variety of clinical forms it can take.

[Symmetrical benign lipomatosis of the tongue and Launois-Bensaude lipomatosis]. / Lipomatose bénigne symétrique de la langue et lipomatose de Launois-Bensaude.

BACKGROUND: There are many causes of macroglossia, including fatty infiltration. Unlike unique or multiple lipomas of the tongue, non-encapsulated adipocyte masses develop in the tongue in symmetrical benign lipomatosis. Only six cases have been reported in the literature. CASE REPORT: A 69-year-old man with a history of chronic alcoholism developed a soft tumefied formation on the lateral margins of the tongue. A yellow-colored content was perceived through the thin mucosa. The formation was bilateral and had developed for more than 10 years. The patient also presented Launois-Bensaude lipomatosis localized on the neck, the nuchal region and the shoulders. DISCUSSION: This is, to our knowledge, the first reported case of symmetrical benign lipomatosis associated with Launois-Bensaude lipomatosis. An analogy between these two conditions has been suggested, but the six earlier cases of lipomatosis of the tongue reported in the literature developed in patients without cutaneous lipomatosis.