Osteolyttic cryptococcal infection without immunodeficiency: a case report

A 54-year-old previously healthy man presented with paraplegia. CT scan showed a lytic lesion of the sixth dorsal vertebra and cord compression suggesting malignant metastasis. Open biopsy of the vertebra showed a granulomatous lesion with Cryptococcus spores. Culture for fungus confirmed an A serotype Cryptococcus neoformans. HIV and HTLV-1 antibody tests were negative. Surgical treatment combined with oral fluconazole was without clinical or CT scan resolution within a follow-up of three months. The paper underlines the role of the pathologist in the diagnosis of mycotic diseases (AU)

Abdominal angiostrongyliasis: third case in Guadeloupe - abstract

Angiostrongylus costaricencis causes a clinicopathologic disease, abdominal angiostrongyliasis (AA), first observed in Costa Rica by Morera and Cespedes. AA is mainly observed in children, and is characterized by abdominal pain typically localized to the right lower quadrant. The disease is mostly endemic to Central and South America. However, the disease has begun to appear outside of its endemic area and may simulate Crohn's disease, and is observed in old persons. We report 3 cases of AA, all diagnosed in the Department of Pathology in the CHU in Guadeloupe, FWI, since 1987. The 3 cases are instructive of the disease and the physician needs to be aware of it. It is also a priority to identify intermediate hosts to prevent the disease (AU)