Acute autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss associated with Crohn's disease.

We report the sudden onset of bilateral hearing loss in a patient with Crohn's disease while the intestinal disease was quiescent. Antibodies directed against collagen type II were detected in the serum. Dramatic improvement of his hearing was observed under corticosteroid therapy. Diagnosis of autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss was established. This condition could be considered as an extraintestinal manifestation of Crohn's disease. Early diagnosis is mandated, as prompt and intensive treatment with corticosteroids and/or immunosuppressive drugs is effective and could prevent irreversible hearing loss.

[Primary carcinoid of the larynx. Apropos of a case. Review of the literature]. / Carcinoïdes primitifs du larynx. A propos d'un cas. Revue de la littérature.

We report a new case of primary atypical carcinoid of the larynx. This rare neuro-endocrine neoplasm of the larynx was initially mis diagnosed in 50% of the cases published. Since, characteristically these are lesions of the epilarynx causing dysphonia at early stages of development, the diagnosis should be kept in mind when the work-up for dysphonia reveals a small tumor of the epiglottis or aryepiglottic folds. The histological diagnosis should be oriented by Grimelius staining and confirmed immunoperoxidase marker studies for chromogranin and cytokeratin. Although, atypical carcinoids of the larynx are aggressive malignant tumors, the prognosis for early lesions of less than 1 cm is excellent. However, unlike early squamous cell carcinomas, these tumors do not respond well to radiation therapy. Primary surgery is the treatment of choice.

[Dysosmia and dysgeusia in the elderly]. / Dysosmies et dysgueusies du vieillard.

A study of dysosmia and dysgeusia in the elderly was undertaken in 50 patients, according to a simplified protocol based on an interview, a complete ENT examination, chemical gustrometry and recognition olfactometry. As far as olfaction was concerned, 11% of the patients interviewed said they were hyposmic, whereas following the olfactometric examination, hyposmia was found in 25% of the patients. As far as gustation was concerned, 5% of the patients complained of parageusia. The chemical gustrometric examination revealed 4% of cases of hypogeusia. As a conclusion to this study, it appears that olfactory and gustatory disorders are well tolerated in the elderly, and are not a cause for referral. The recognition olfactometric examination permits the detection of hyposmia with a relatively remarkable frequency.