Radiological findings in Behçet disease

Between 5 and 30% of patients with Behçet's disease will present neurological signs during the course of their illness. In order to evaluate the radiological signs on neuro-behçet disease, we studied consecutive patients in whom the diagnosis of this disease was retained, and who referred from January 2004 to December 2011 to the neurology and internal medicine departments in Mohammed VI universitary hospital in Marrakesh. Using 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with axial and coronal T2- weighted, axial Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR), pre- and post-contrast axial, coronal and sagittal T1-weighted sequences. The final number of patients in whom the diagnosis criteria of behçet disease were fulfilled and in whom an MRI was performed was 68 cases. Among these patients, 52 had parenchymal form of neuro-behçet with abnormalities in the MRI, 12 had vascular form and 4 patients had normal MRI. The brainstem, cerebral white matter, basal ganglia, internal capsule, thalamus and spinal cord were involved in forty four, thirty one, thirty, twenty nine, seventeen and four patients, respectively. The cerebral peduncle was the brainstem structure mainly involved with thirty cases followed by the pons with, twenty cases. Midbrain involvement interested forty patients. Brainstem atrophy was seen in eighteen cases. Finally, control MRI were obtained in four cases only, and showed changes in lesions size and shape

Autoimmune gastrointestinal complications in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: case series and literature review

The association of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases is rare, but has been described in the literature, mostly as case reports. However, some of these diseases may be very severe, thus a correct and early diagnosis with appropriate management are fundamental. We have analysed our data from the SLE patient cohort at University College Hospital London, established in 1978, identifying those patients with an associated autoimmune gastrointestinal disease. We have also undertaken a review of the literature describing the major autoimmune gastrointestinal pathologies which may be coincident with SLE, focusing on the incidence, clinical and laboratory (particularly antibody) findings, common aetiopathogenesis and complications