Imagery of pineal tumors.

Pineal tumors are rare and include a large variety of entities. Germ cell tumors are relatively frequent and often secreting lesions. Pineal parenchymal tumors include pineocytomas, pineal parenchymal tumor of intermediate differentiation, pineoblastomas and papillary tumors of the pineal region. Other lesions including astrocytomas and meningiomas as well as congenital malformations i.e. benign cysts, lipomas, epidermoid and dermoid cysts, which can also arise from the pineal region. Imagery is often non-specific but detailed analysis of the images compared with the hormone profile can narrow the spectrum of possible diagnosis.

[Contribution of cerebral magnetic resonance imaging to etiological investigation of uveitis]. / Place de l'imagerie par résonance magnétique cérébrale dans le bilan étiologique des uvéites.

PURPOSE: Uveitis is a disorder for which etiologic assessment procedures are still not codified. Clinical presentation is heterogenous, with poor correlation between symptoms and neurological involvement. The aim of our study was to assess the contribution of cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the management of uveitis. METHODS: Seventy-one patients, 26 men and 45 women, were included between January 1st, 2000 and March 31st, 2008, in two groups "contributory MRI" and "not contributory MRI" according to diagnostic contribution of MRI. Clinical characteristics of uveitis, inflammatory, immunological and infectious biological features, and cerebral MRI were analyzed. RESULTS: A diagnostics was established in 38 (53.5%) patients. Five patients with multiple sclerosis and one case of Behçet's disease were diagnosed using cerebral MRI. CONCLUSION: This study points out cerebral MRI contribution as a second-line examination for the etiological diagnosis of uveitis especially in case of suspicion of multiple sclerosis or Behçet's disease.

Patterns of care and survival of glioblastoma patients: a comparative study between 2004 and 2008 in Lyon, France.

INTRODUCTION: The treatment of glioblastomas (GBMs) has changed significantly since 2005. However, the extent to which this change has improved overall survival (OS) of patients treated outside clinical trials remains to be determined. METHODS: We compared the patterns of care and OS of all GBM patients diagnosed in 2004 (n=105) and in 2008 (n=130) in our center. RESULTS: Younger patients (aged<70 years) diagnosed in 2008 received temozolomide radiochemotherapy as the initial treatment and bevacizumab at recurrence more frequently than those diagnosed in 2004 (69% vs 26% P<10(-4) and 41% vs 3%, P<10(-4), respectively). Elderly patients (aged≥70 years) diagnosed in 2008 received an oncological treatment (radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy) more frequently than those diagnosed in 2004 (67% vs 38%, P=0.006). The patients diagnosed in 2008 had longer OS than those diagnosed in 2004 (10.5 months vs 5.3 months, P=0.001). This finding was true for both younger and elderly patients (15.3 months vs 8.9 months, P=0.02 and 6.4 months vs 3.2 months, P=0.0002, respectively) and when considering only IDH1 wild-type patients (8.9 months vs 5.3 months, P=0.004). CONCLUSION: In our center, the change in the patterns of care for GBMs between 2004 and 2008 has been associated with a significant improvement in OS.

[Clinical features of pulmonary embolism in elderly: a comparative study of 64 patients]. / Particularités cliniques de l'embolie pulmonaire chez la personne âgée : étude comparative de 64 patients.

PURPOSE: To date only a few studies regarding pulmonary embolism (PE) in elderly have been published. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical features of PE in elderly patients (≥ 75 years). METHODS: All patients hospitalized for PE in our internal medicine department from January 2005 to December 2010 were included in the study. The aim was to compare the features of PE in elderly patients (≥ 75 years) to those of patients younger than 75 years. The following data were recorded: past medical history, risk factors for venous thrombo-embolism (VTE), clinical features, and PE etiologies. RESULTS: The population was composed of 64 patients (women 56%) with a median age of 82 years (IQR: 13.5). There was no statistical difference for risk factors of VTE. Syncope was more frequent in elderly patients (33% versus 7%, P=0.04) whereas thoracic pain predominated in younger patients (36,5% versus 7%, P=0.005). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was more frequent in the past medical history of elderly patients. The diagnostic of PE was less suspected in elderly patients (47% versus 72%, P=0.035). The etiologies were similar between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the frequency of syncope as the presenting feature of PE in elderly, whereas thoracic pain is uncommon. We confirmed the difficulty to diagnose PE in elderly population.

[Guidelines for the probabilistic treatment of community-acquired pneumonia: compared experience between internal medicine and emergency departments in the University Hospital of Besançon, France]. / Application des référentiels concernant la prise en charge probabiliste des pneumopathies communautaires non sévères: expérience comparée du service de médecine interne et du service des urgences adultes du CHU de Besançon.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to assess the application of local and national recommendations in the management of community-acquired pneumonia in an internal medicine department with an antibiotic referent physician and in an emergency department. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective single-center study including patients admitted with community-acquired pneumonia in the internal medicine department of the University Hospital of Besançon after an initial admission in the emergency department. RESULTS: One hundred patients (58 women and 42 men) were included. The mean age was 79 ± 11 years. The prescriptions done in the emergency department were in accordance with local recommendations or Société de pathologie infectieuse de langue française (SPILF) recommendations in 62% of cases. The prescriptions followed the recommendations in 94% of cases in internal medicine department (P<0.05). The lack of initial antibiotic treatment had no influence on morbidity and mortality. CONCLUSION: The guidelines for infectious diseases treatment were significantly more often applied in a department where a referent physician was designated for this.

[Surgery of high-grade gliomas guided by fluorescence: a retrospective study of 22 patients]. / Exérèse neurochirurgicale optimale des gliomes de haut grade guidée par fluorescence : mise au point à partir d'une série rétrospective de 22 patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Optimal surgical resection improves the prognosis of glioblastomas. However, this goal is far from being achieved due to its invasive nature. Several studies have already shown the efficacy of fluorescence-guided surgery, in improving the quality of resection of glioblastoma. We report herein our experience through a retrospective serie and describe the principles, limitations and advantages of this technique. METHODS: Between 2006 and 2009, 22 patients underwent resection of a glioblastoma guided by fluorescence. Following operations, all patients underwent sequential clinical examination and radiological monitoring using multimodal MRI. The extent of resection was assessed by the surgeon during the procedure and by the radiologist on MRI. The curves of progression-free clinical survival (SSP) and overall survival (SG) were analyzed. The prognostic value of the extent of resection was studied. RESULTS: We obtained 68.2% of complete resection according to the absence of residual fluorescence as assessed by the surgeon, and 75% according to the absence of residual tumor on early MRI. The median SSP was 10.75 months and the median SG was 17 months. Complete tumoral resection confirmed by loss of fluorescence significatively increases the median SSP of 6.7 months to 12.9 months (p=0.001559) and the median SG of 12.3 months to 20.9 months (p=0.000559). After 1 year, 81.8% of patients were still alive. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms the use of fluorescence as an effective method to allow optimal resection of glioblastoma. In addition to neuronavigation, surgical experience, vision and proprioception, fluorescence contributes to achieve a complete tumor resection.

[Diffusion and perfusion MR imaging in cerebral lymphomas]. / IRM de diffusion-perfusion dans l'évaluation des lymphomes cérébraux.

Because of the increasing incidence of cerebral lymphoma, it is critical for patient management to recognize the MR features of this disease. We present the characteristic morphological and functional MRI features of this tumor. The findings on MRI studies, including morphological, diffusion and perfusion imaging, performed in 9 biopsy-proven cases of cerebral lymphoma with 13 lesions are presented and analyzed, and are discussed in comparison with published literature data. All patients underwent diffusion-weighted imaging with a single shot echo-planar pulse sequence. Dynamic susceptibility-contrast MRI was performed using a T2*-weighted gradient-echo echo-planar sequence after intravenous injection of chelates of gadolinium at the rate of 6 ml/s and a temporal resolution of 1 second. All cases of cerebral lymphoma appeared hypointense or isointense on T1-weighted images and in 75% of cases iso- or hypointense on T2-weighted images. All lesions enhanced except one in a patient receiving steroid therapy. On diffusion-weighted images, tumours were hyperintense with normal or decreased ADC values (0.717+/-0.152.10-3 mm2/sec, range: 0.550-1.014) and an ADC ratio tumour/normal white matter of 0.974+/-0.190 (range: 0.768-1.410). On perfusion, the signal intensity-time curve of each tumour showed a characteristic type of curve with a significant increase of the signal intensity above the baseline and a low maximum relative cerebral blood volume ratio (rCVBmax) of 1.43+/-0.64 (0.55-2.62). Due to their higher cellularity, the lack of neoangiogenesis, and the increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier related to the infiltration of blood vessels wall by lymphomatous cells, cerebral lymphoma presents characteristic diffusion and perfusion MRI features that should be useful for diagnosis and patient follow-up.

[A rare iatrogenic effect of atropine eyedrops on the salivary glands]. / Un effet iatrogène rare de l'atropine collyre sur les s glandes salivaires.

We have described a iatrogen effect of Atropine drops on salivary secretion. Pharmacology and iatrogen systemic effects are recalled; showing particularly the possible toxicity for the children in local use.