The use of Harrington's rods in metastatic tumours with spinal cord compression

Summary Decompressive laminectomy associated with the placement of Harringthn's rods was used in the treatment of eleven patients presenting with compression of the thoraco-lumbar spinal cord by metastatic tumour. Both the neurological and mechanical advantages of this approach are discussed.     

Characterization of PI3KCA and BRAF mutations in gastric adenocarcinoma: An approach to a personalized targeted therapy for Moroccan HER2 overexpressed patients

Background and study aims

Targeted therapies have an increasing importance in digestive oncology. To our knowledge, we are the first to report the distribution of PI3KCA and BRAF mutations in Moroccan HER2 overexpressed patients, in order to introduce targeted therapy in the arsenal of therapeutic modalities for management in Morocco.

Genetic analysis of HAV strains in Tunisia reveals two new antigenic variants

To evaluate the genetic variability of hepatitis A virus (HAV) isolates in Tunisia, serum samples were collected from 99 patients in different Tunisian areas in 2003 containing 92 cases with acute hepatitis, five with severe acute hepatitis and two with fulminant hepatitis. The entire VP1 gene was amplified and sequenced. Sequences were then aligned and a phylogenetic analysis was performed. Additionally, the amino acid (aa) sequence of the VP1 was determined. The analysis of Tunisian HAV isolates revealed that all the isolates were sub-genotype IA with 96.4%–99.8% of identity and showed the emergence of two novel antigenic variants. The Tun31-03 antigenic variant, with a 38 aa deletion containing Met156, Val171, Leu174 and Ala176 and located between 150 and 187 aa of the VP1 protein where neutralization escape mutations, was found. The second antigenic variant, Tun36-03, was isolated from a patient with fulminant hepatitis and presented a substitution of Thr by Pro at position 10 of the VP1 protein. This amino acid is located in a peptide presenting an antigenically reactive epitope of the VP1 protein. This substitution has never been described previously.     

Polymorphism of human leukocyte antigen-A, -B, and -DRB1 in a Moroccan population from Casablanca: study of the allelic and the haplotypic frequencies

We have studied the distribution of HLA-A, -B and DRB1 alleles and haplotypes by sequence specific oligonucleotide amplification in a sample of 125 unrelated healthy Moroccan individuals from Casablanca in Morocco. The city of Casablanca is known of its big ethnic diversity, especially Arabs and Berbers. The most frequent alleles found were: HLA-A*02 (18.4%), -A*01 (11.2%), -A*03 (10.8%), -B*51 (8.06%),-B*44 (7.66%), -B*08 (6.85%), -DRB1*04 (15.98%), DRB1*03 and DRB1*07 (13.92%) and -DRB1*01 (10%). High frequency for five two-locus haplotypes was observed for A*03-B*51 (5%), A*02-DRB1*03 (5.5%), A*02-DRB1*04 and A*01-DRB1*04 (5%) and B*35-DRB1*04 (4%). No predominant haplotype was observed for HLA A-B-DRB1. Our results confirm and extend the current knowledge about genetic pattern of the Moroccan of Casablanca. This study will serve as a reference for further anthropological studies, as well as studies of HLA and disease associations in the Moroccan population.     

Sex Differences in Social Interaction in Rats: Role of the Immediate-Early Gene zif268

Given both the high prevalence of anxiety disorders in women and the fact that little is known about the mechanisms of gender differences in anxiety, our primary aim in this study was to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying sex differences in social anxiety-like behavior in rats. Through the use of zif268 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (zif ASO), we induced a temporary downregulation of zif268 expression in the medial prefrontal cortex of male and female rats and found that zif268 ASO male rats show more social anxiety-like behaviors when compared with control male rats in the social interaction test. In fact, zif268 ASO males displayed social anxiety-like behaviors, which were similar to control females, thus downregulation of zif268 expression in the mPFC of male rats eliminated sex differences previously found in the social anxiety-like behavior tests. Interestingly, zif268 ASO in female rats had no effect on their social interaction. Our novel findings have led us to ascertain that sexually dimorphic zif268 expression in the mPFC is a key molecular factor in mediating sex-specific anxiety-like behavior in the social interaction test.     

Acute renal failure due to malignant lymphoma infiltration

We present two cases of renal lymphoma revealed by acute renal failure (ARF), which remains a rare clinical entity. Case 1 was a 29-year-old man with an ARF. The diagnosis was a primitive kidney immunophenotype B lymphoma. The patient died after three courses of chemotherapy due to rapid spread lymphoma. The second case was a high-grade renal lymphomatous infiltration, with an unusual computer tomography image of two large kidneys compressing the stomach. Death happened early before initiating therapy. In both cases the diagnosis has been established by renal pathology. Early diagnosis is a key component of therapeutic success, however, the rapid spread of lymphoma worsened renal and vital prognosis.