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ABSTRACT: Polymyalgia rheumatica is an inflammatory condition belonging to the connective tissue diseases, which occurs quite frequently in the elderly. Previously, cases have been reported in association with malignant tumours, in a synchronous fashion or prior to the appearance of the cancer. In these cases, the polymyalgia rheumatica is considered to be a paraneoplastic syndrome. We report the cases of a 63-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man with severe proximal girdle pain associated to a high-level of systemic inflammatory markers and a diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica was made. In the face of a lack of ineffectiveness of analgesic and anti-inflammatory treatments, an intensive investigation was undertaken which in both cases revealed an adenocarcinoma of the lung. The rheumatic manifestations responded well to chemotherapy targeting the lung tumour. We present here a review of the literature to give prominence to the diagnostic pitfalls that can occur around paraneoplastic polymyalgia rheumatica. The presence of therapeutic resistance at the onset of treatment and other atypical features may suggest the presence of an occult malignancy.
Revue des Maladies Respiratoires 01/2013; 30(1):67-70. · 0.59 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This work consists in a study of the links between alcohol, a psychoactive substance and different related epileptic manifestations in order to clarify predominant factors both on conceptual, clinical and therapeutic levels.
If alcohol is a frequent risk factor for seizures, its scientific evidence is less clear and ad hoc literature is rich in controversies and not firmly supported by systematic surveys. Alcohol has variable roles in the physiopathological determinism of seizures, the nosographical status of which needs to be clarified: alcohol withdrawal seizures, alcoholic epilepsy, and sometimes symptomatic epilepsy caused by coincidental disorders.
A synthesis of relevant literature describing the links between alcohol and epilepsy is illustrated by a clinical case: a patient admitted in our psychiatric ward for chronic alcoholism had had two seizures questioning their nosographical status. An infectious process with protean neurological manifestations, neuroborreliosis, was diagnosed.
Three distinct clinical pictures illustrate the links between alcohol and epilepsy: the first, convulsive inebriation corresponds to a seizure during severe acute alcohol intoxication. The second deals with alcohol withdrawal seizures following a partial or complete sudden withdrawal of alcohol; these are the clinical features the most documented in the literature representing, with delirium tremens, the main complication of alcohol withdrawal. The third clinical picture, alcoholic epilepsy, is characterized by repetitive seizures in patients presenting alcohol abuse without former history of epilepsy or other potentially epileptic disorder, and without relationship to alcohol withdrawal or acute alcohol intoxication. Acute and chronic effects of alcohol on central nervous system have been depicted, while a unified classification of alcohol related seizures has been recently established by Bartolomei. This classification based on the Ballenger hypothesis of kindling (1978) could explain withdrawal and hazardous seizures as clinical expressions of the same epileptogenic process over different stages. Although theoretically criticized, such a model offers a conceptual interest while able to unify the varied understanding of convulsive crises related to alcohol, and a practical one, whilst being a basis for a therapeutic approach. Our clinical case illustrates the delay in the diagnosis established after two iterative generalized seizures, 72 hours after the beginning of a programmed weaning of a patient presenting alcohol dependency. If the withdrawal seizure hypothesis was underlined, some data led to symptomatic epilepsy. Firstly atypia, the well-supervised preventive treatment of convulsion did not avoid seizures. Secondly, the EEG showed focal anomalies strongly linked in the literature with a cerebral disorder, which was confirmed by MRI; thirdly, cognitive alterations, which are not usual in alcohol dependency, were observed clinically and confirmed by neuropsychological tests. Finally a neuroborreliosis was diagnosed, while the main neuropsychiatric complications of Lyme disease were described. In accordance with the recommendations made by some authors, it appeared legitimate to consider neuroborreliosis as a potential differential diagnosis of every atypical psychiatric disorder, the interest of such an identification laying in the existence of a specific treatment.
L Encéphale 06/2011; 37(3):231-7. · 0.63 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We report the case of a patient who developed paraplegia following a low lumbar epidural steroid injection. Alternative approaches to (or alternative means of) performing transforaminal injections should be considered, in order to avoid devastating neurological complications.
A 54-year-old man (who had undergone surgery 14 years earlier to cure an L5-S1 slipped disc with right S1 radiculopathy) presented with low back pain (which had begun 6 weeks previously) and left S1 radiculopathy. During a second infiltration of prednisolone acetate, the patient reported feeling a heat sensation in his legs and concomitantly developed facial flushing. Immediately after the injection, the patient developed complete, flaccid T7 ASIA A motor and sensory paraplegia. Three days later, T2 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine revealed a spontaneous hypersignal in the conus medullaris and from T6 to T9, suggesting medullary ischemia. Recovery has been slow; after 4 months of treatment in a physical and rehabilitation medicine department, urinary and sensory disorders are still present (T7 ASIA D paraplegia). The patient can walk 200 m unaided. Three months later, the MRI data had not changed.
This is a rare case report of paraplegia following low lumbar epidural infiltration via an interlaminar route. The mechanism is not clear. Most of authors suggest that the pathophysiological basis of this type of complication is ischemia caused by accidental interruption of the medullary blood supply. Direct damage to a medullary artery, arterial spasm or corticosteroid-induced occlusion due to undetected intra-arterial injection could result in medullary infarction. This serious incident should prompt us to consider how to avoid further problems in the future. It also raises the issue of providing patients with information on the risks inherent in this type of procedure.
Despite the rarity of this complication, patients should be made aware of its potential occurrence. In the case reported here, the functional prognosis is uncertain.
Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicine 11/2010; 53(9):575-83.
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ABSTRACT: The pleuropulmonary manifestations of necrotising vasculitis are frequent and polymorphic. If the existence of extrapulmonary signs and the presence of neutrophil polynuclear anticytoplasmic antibodies are helpful for the diagnosis of a bout of vasculitis, the existence of pleuropulmonary symptoms can also make for discussion of infections or iatrogenic effects induced by immunosuppressive treatments.
Revue de Pneumologie Clinique 10/2010; 66(5):295-301. · 0.24 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We report a case of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) in a 60 years-old woman with Sjogren's syndrome. Symptomatology on admission leads to evoke the diagnosis of TTP. Biological results allow to set the diagnosis. Actually, association of haemolytic anaemia, schizocytes and thrombocytopenia are in favour of TTP. Undetectable ADAMTS 13 activity (below 5%) confirms the diagnosis. In congenital TTP, plasma ADAMTS 13 is absent or severely reduced as a consequence of mutations in the two ADAMTS 13 gene. In acquired TTP, circulating antibodies inhibit plasma ADAMTS 13 activity. In those cases, further biological studies are needed to find a cause of TTP. Follow-up implies standard laboratory tests. Plasma exchanges are progressively tapered after normalization of platelets count.
Annales de biologie clinique 06/2008; 66(3):327-31. · 0.34 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Pleural lymphomas after a long standing pyothorax due to pleuropulmonary tuberculosis are now well identified, but rarely observed in Europe. We report two new cases in a non-immunocompromised patients. The two cases occurred 5455 years following artificial pneumothorax for pulmonary tuberculosis. The patients presented with a localized pleural tumor mass. Histology revealed high-grade lymphomas, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and anaplastic lymphoma. Serology for Epstein-Barr virus was positive. Pleural lymphomas are an established complication of artificial pneumothorax. Epstein-Barr virus is known to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis, but despite the large number of artificial pneumothorax operations, these lymphomas remain rare, suggesting additional oncogenic factors.
Revue de Pneumologie Clinique 10/2007; 63(4):277-81. · 0.24 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Pleural lymphomas after a long standing pyothorax due to pleuropulmonary tuberculosis are now well identified, but rarely observed in Europe. We report two new cases in a non-immunocompromised patients. The two cases occurred 54-55 years following artificial pneumothorax for pulmonary tuberculosis. The patients presented with a localized pleural tumor mass. Histology revealed high-grade lymphomas, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and anaplastic lymphoma. Serology for Epstein-Barr virus was positive. Pleural lymphomas are an established complication of artificial pneumothorax. Epstein-Barr virus is known to play a crucial role in the pathogenis, but despite the large number of artificial pneumothorax operations, these lymphomas remain rare, suggesting additional oncogenic factors.
Revue de Pneumologie Clinique 63(4):277-281. · 0.24 Impact Factor
