Meningomyelite d’origine syphilitique: Etude de cinq cas

IntroductionLes manifestations neurologiques de la syphilis sont polymorphes et sont actuellement en recrudescence. Nous rapportons cinq cas de méningomyélites en rapport avec une neurosyphilis.ObservationsIl s’agit de cinq hommes âgés respectivement de 38, 40, 41, 42 et 44 ans. La notion de chancre était présente dans 1 cas. Le tableau fut celui d’un syndrome de compression médullaire dans 3 cas, syndrome de sclérose combinée de la moelle dans 2 cas. Le signe d’Argyll Robertson retrouvé dans 1 cas. L’imagerie par résonance magnétique réalisée chez tous les patients confirma le diagnostic de myélopathie non compressive. L’étude du liquide céphalorachidien (LCR) montra une méningite lymphocytaire avec des sérologies syphilitiques positives. L’utilisation de la pénicilline G améliora l’état clinique dans 4 cas.ConclusionLa recherche d’une syphilis doit être systématique devant toute myélopathie non compressive

Osteoblastoma of scaphoid of the carpus: a case report

Osteoblastoma is a rather uncommon tumor, especially when located in the wrist (and hand). Its diagnosis therefore appears to be problematic. We describe a case of osteoblastoma of the scaphoid bone and its management. To our knowledge, this is the fourth case of osteoblatoma of the carpus reported in the literature. Proximal row carpectomy was chosen because of the aggressive nature of the tumor. A tendon transfer was performed in the same session for wrist stabilization. Other authors have opted for a more conservative approach (tumor curettage with bone grafting).Key words: Osteoblastoma, scaphoid, hand, proximal row carpectomy, Morocc

Spondylolisthesis on bilateral pedicle stress fracture in the lumbar spine: A case study

AbstractWe report the clinical case of a 54-year-old woman presenting radicular low back pain on the right side of L4 associated to spondylolisthesis on L4-L5, without any notion of trauma or spine surgery. Furthermore this patient is regularly seen for benign rheumatoid polyarthritis complicated by steroid-induced osteoporosis. A preventive treatment was implanted with good results on pain improvement and functional capacities. For pedicle fractures the literature review reports several different etiologies: spontaneous fractures, hereditary fractures or stress-related fractures. There was a discussion on the various treatments available and in this case of spondylolisthesis on pedicle fracture a conservative treatment was implemented similar to the one for isthmic spondylolisthesis. It yielded satisfying results

Interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F and asthma in Saudi Arabia: mRNA transcript levels and gene polymorphisms

Asthma is a multifactorial disorder and both genetic and environmental factors contribute to its development. The present study explored cytokines interleukin (IL)-17A and IL17F levels as usable parameters for the diagnosis of asthmatics Saudi patients. Blood samples were collected from 100 asthma patients and 100 matched controls. The transcript mRNA levels in whole blood were determined by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Expression studies showed that levels of IL17A and IL17F were significantly higher in asthma patients compared to controls [IL17A: 1.112 (2.088) vs 0.938 (1.363)]; IL17F: 0.707 (1.33) vs 0.667 (0.590). The mRNA transcripts of IL17A and IL17F were positively and significantly correlated in all subjects examined in this study: controls as well as asthma patients (r = 0.455, P < 0.01 for controls and r = 0.644, P < 0.01 for patients). These findings suggest that asthma is characterized by an elevation of cytokines IL17A and IL17F and the measurement of their expression can be a valuable parameter for the diagnosis of asthma.Keywords: Asthma, interleukin-17F (IL17F), interleukin-17A (IL17A), gene expression, real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Saudi Arabia.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(23), pp. 3615-362