Antenatal diagnosis of multicystic renal dysplsia. Report of 11 cases

BACKGROUND: Multicystic dysplastic of the kidney (UCDK) in the most common cause of an abdominal man in the new born period and is the most common cystic malformation of the kidney in infancy. The increasingly widespread use of prenatal diagnostic techniques has revealed that UCDK is apparently even more prevalent than had been assumed. THE AIM: of this study was to assess the utility of antenatal ultra ecography for in utero diagnosid of UCDK and its management. METHODS: A retrospective study of 11 UCDK cases diagnosed by antenatal ultra echography performed between the 4th and 6th monts of pregnancy. The outcome measure was radiographic imaginy It acts of a retrospective study of the 11 cases of DRMK diagnosed in anténatal by an echography obstétricale of the second quarter. A diagnostic confirmation was obtained by radiological examinations in post native for the pregnancies carried. RESULT: Patients with UCDK have significant associated urological and/or non urological malformations. In certain cases of non lethal anomalies, antenatal detection may influence both obstetric and postnatal management. Conservative management requires appropriate investigation of urinary tract tract and long-term follow-up.     

Epidemioclinical aspects of dermatomyositis in the region of Tunis

BACKGROUND: Dermatomyositis (DM) is a rare but serious disease. The aim was to evaluate the epidemiology, presenting clinical manifestations, therapeutic features and outcome of patients with DM. METHODS: From January 1986 to December 2003, we collected retrospectively cases of DM identified at the dermatology department of Habib Thameur hospital. We included only patients with definitive diagnosis of DM. RESULTS: We included 13 patients, mean aged 32.85 years: 9 adults and 4 children. We identified 9 cases of adult DM among them 2 cases of wiihich were of paraneoplastic DM and 4 cases of juvenile DM among them 1 case of amyopathic DM and 1 case of DM associated with connective tissue disease. The evolution of DM followed the course of the neoplasm for the 2 patients with paraneoplastic DM. All patients received corticotherapy initially. Patients were followed-up for an average of 3 years (2 months to 10 years). We found no serious repercussions on the growth of children with juvenile DM. CONCLUSION: DM is rare in Tunisia. In our study, its frequency is about 0.72 patients per year. Age of onset of DM is markedly smaller than the one reported in the relevant litterature. Our 2 cases of DM associated with cancer are considered like really paraneoplastic. Juvenile DM seems to have a relatively good prognosis.     

Hydroxychloroquine-induced acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis with positive patch-testing

Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) is a severe cutaneous adverse reaction, mostly induced by drugs. Hydroxychloroquine have been rarely reported in literature as a causative drug of this reaction. We report a case of AGEP induced by hydroxychloroquine with systemic involvement and confirmed by positive patch testing.KEY WORDS: Hydroxychloroquine, patch test, pustulosis     

Effects of photoperiod regimen on emotional behaviour in two tests for anxiolytic activity in Wistar rat

Seasonal changes are often gone with mood and behaviour changes which are probably linked to change in day length or photoperiod. The experiments developed in this work are based on the hypothesis that changes in photoperiod affect emotionality in rats. To check this hypothesis, female rats were exposed to four different photoperiods (LP: 16L/8D; MP: 12L/12D; SP: 8L/16D; SP-F: 8L/16D with a light pulse in midpoint of the dark phase). Eight or 14 weeks later, rats were subjected to two behavioural tests to quantify anxiety level. Independently of duration, rats exposed to SP exhibited higher levels of anxious-like behaviour than rats raised in LP and SP-F, in an open field test (OFT) and in elevated plus maze (EPM). Significant differences in EPM are obtained only after 14 weeks of treatment. Moreover rats treated more long time showed greater suprarenal gland mass. Compared to all other groups, females exposed to SP had greater suprarenal gland. Our results indicate that changes in day length are associated with different levels of anxious-like behaviours consistent with the conjecture that short days may have an anxiogenic effect in female rats.     

Effect of microiontophoretic application of dopamine on subthalamic nucleus neuronal activity in normal rats and in rats with unilateral lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) receives dopamine inputs from the substantia nigra but their implication in the pathophysiology of parkinsonism is still debated. Extracellular microrecordings were used to study the effect of microiontophoretic injection of dopamine and the D1 receptor agonist SKF 38393 on the activity of STN neurons in normal and 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats under urethane anaesthesia. Dopamine and SKF induced an increase in the firing rate of the majority of STN neurons in both normal and 6-OHDA rats. In rats with 6-OHDA lesions, the percentage of firing rate increase did not differ from that of controls. When GABA, glutamate and dopamine were all applied to the same individual STN neurons, GABA induced an inhibitory effect and glutamate and dopamine caused an excitatory effect in both groups. This excitatory response was suppressed by the application of GABA. Systemic administration of apomorphine provoked a decrease in the firing rate of STN neurons in rats with 6-OHDA lesions. These results show that dopamine exerts an excitatory influence on STN neurons, suggesting that the inhibitory effect induced by the systemic injection of apomorphine is due to the GABAergic inputs from the globus pallidus as predicted by the current model of basal ganglia organization. In addition, we show that dopamine, GABA and glutamate can act on the same STN neuron and that GABA can reverse the excitatory effect of dopamine and glutamate, suggesting the predominant influence of GABAergic inputs to the subthalamic nucleus.