A rare form of pancreatic diabetes complicated by portal venous thrombosis: A 25-year follow-up

Fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes (FCPD) is an uncommon type of diabetes mellitus, so called tropical diabetes, due to chronic calcific non-alcoholic pancreatitis. This type of diabetes is associated to several particularities based on glycemic control and the occurrence of degenerative and metabolic complications, in addition to chronic pancreatitis complications such us venous thrombosis. We report here a rare case of a young North-African patient with long standing FCPD followed for 25 years and complicated by portal venous thrombosis. This case presentation highlights how important is to suspect fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes especially in the presence of chronic abdominal pain. The follow-up of such patients should be focused not only on the clinical and biological markers of diabetes, but also on pancreatitis complications

Benzylthiouracil-Induced Glomerulonephritis

Vasculitis is a rare complication of antithyroid drugs (ATDs). It was first described with Propylthiouracil (PTU). We report a new case of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) vasculitis with glomerulonephritis induced by Benzylthiouracile (BTU). A 50-year-old man with Graves disease treated with BTU developed general malaise and haematuria without skin rash or respiratory involvement. Laboratory data revealed acute renal failure with proteinuria and haematuria. An indirect immunofluorescence test for ANCA was positive, showing a perinuclear pattern with specificity antimyeloperoxidase (MPO). A renal biopsy was performed and revealed pauci-immune extracapillary glomerular nephropathy and necrotic vasculitis lesions. Based on these findings we concluded to the diagnosis of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis associated with ANCA induced by BTU therapy. The drug was therefore discontinued and the patient was treated with steroids and immunosuppressive treatment during 3 months. Renal failure, proteinuria and haematuria significantly improved within 2 months. However, P-ANCA remained positive until 10 months after drug withdrawal. Thyroid function was kept within normal range using iodine solution. We demonstrated clearly that BTU may induce severe forms of vasculitis with glomerulonephritis. Thus, the ANCA must be measured when confronted to systemic manifestation during treatment

Lung function in poorly controlled type 1 North African diabetic patients: A case-control study

Aim: To compare the lung function parameters of poorly controlled type-1-diabetes-mellitus (T1DM) patients with age-; height and sex-matched healthy-non-smokers (HNS). Population and methods: Subjects aged 35–60 Yrs who have a poorly controlled T1DM (glycated-Haemoglobin level >7%) with a disease history of more than 10 Yrs (n = 14) and HNS subjects (n = 14) were recruited. Clinical, anthropometric and fasting biological data were collected. Plethysmographic data (flows, volumes, estimated-lung-age (ELA), lung-capacity-to-transfer-carbon-monoxide (DLCO)) were measured. Large-airway-obstructive-ventilatory-defect (LAOVD) was defined as first–second-forced-expiratory-volume (FEV1)/forced-vital-capacity (FVC) below the lower-limit-of-normal (LLN). Restrictive-ventilatory-defect (RVD) was defined as total-lung-capacity (TLC)  upper-limit-of-normal. Student t-test and chi-2 test were used to compare plethysmographic data and profiles of the two groups. Results: The two groups were matched in chronological-lung-age (CLA) (respectively 47 ± 7 vs. 50 ± 8 Yrs) and sex (7 males and 7 females in each group) and height. Compared to the HNS group, the T1DM one had significantly lower FEV1, FVC, slow-vital-capacity and maximal-mid-expiratory-flow (respectively 99 ± 11% vs. 83 ± 11%, 99 ± 9% vs. 86 ± 11%, 80 ± 8% vs. 67 ± 15% and 98 ± 23% vs. 72 ± 23%), had significantly higher TLC and RV (respectively, 105 ± 20% vs. 123 ± 24% and 108 ± 22% vs. 131 ± 24%) and had significantly higher percentage of subjects with lung-hyperinflation (7.1% vs. 43.0%). Both groups had similar percentages of LAOVD and RVD and similar corrected DLCO values. ELA of the T1DM group (57 ± 10 Yrs) was significantly higher than CLA. Conclusion: Poorly controlled T1DM seems to alter ventilatory mechanics without effect on the alveolo-capillary-membrane. In addition, it accelerates the respiratory ageing

Plague Reappearance in Algeria after 50 Years, 2003

An outbreak of plague occurred in the region of Oran, Algeria, from June to July 2003. Algeria had not reported this disease for >50 years. Eighteen bubonic cases were identified, and Yersinia pestis was isolated from 6 patients. Except for the index case-patient, all patients recovered. Targeted chemoprophylaxis, sanitation, and vector control played a crucial role in controlling the outbreak. Epidemiologic and biomolecular findings strongly suggested the existence of a local animal reservoir during this period, but its origin (resurgence or re-importation) could not be determined. This sudden and unexpected reemergence of plague, close to an important commercial seaport, is a textbook illustration of a public health event of international importance. It also demonstrates that the danger of plague reoccurrence is not limited to the currently indexed natural foci