[Efficiency of endoscopic treatment with intra gastric balloon in severe to morbid obesity]

Obesity raises such a healthcare matter throughout the world. Its management is not only complex but also most often multidisciplinary. The medico-dietary treatment is of inconstant efficiency and the surgical treatment, though more efficient, presents a considerable morbidity-death rate. The endoscopic treatment through intra-gastric balloon avails a seducing alternative namely accounting for surgery preparation. To assess the efficiency of the endoscopic treatment through gastric balloon, both in the short and long term, and this is accounting for weight loss as well as tolerance. We have carried out a retrospective study including the patients suffering from severe to morbid obesity and who had a gastric balloon implemented in our Endoscopy Unit between November 2005 and December 2007. Twenty one patients were included. The average age was 32,19 +/- 12,65 years with extremes of 16 and 52 years. Fifteen patients suffered from morbid obesity. The patients' average weight was 134, 52 +/- 26,46 kg [extremes 88 and 194 kg]. Some co-morbidity was found out with 15 patients. Te balloon implementation [Héliosphère[registered sign]] was carried out with no incidents in all patients. Six months after the balloon implementation, the average weight loss was17,5% and the average loss of overweigh was 37%. In biological level, we noted a normalisation of fasting glycaemia in 28,6 % of cases, of the cholesterolemia in 100 %, of the triglyceridemia in 33,33%, of the uraemia in 42,8% and hepatic tests in 50 % of the cases. The metabolic syndrome disappeared in 28,57 % of cases. The assessment after a 5-year-period was marked by the need to surgical treatment in 4 patients and this is due to the loss of efficiency of endoscopic treatment. A bad tolerance of gastric balloon was observed in 34 % of the cases, dominated by sicknesses. Only one patient presented incoercible sicknesses with ionic troubles as well as deshydrating requiring the precocious extraction of the balloon after 48 hours of its implementation. The endoscopic treatment through intra gastric balloon is well tolerated but efficiently limited in time. It might be recommended in preparation for a surgical treatment or in case of contre- indication or surgery refusal

[Epidemiology of hepatitis C in Tunisia]

Hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection is one of the main causes of chronic liver disease worldwide. To describe epidemiological patterns of hepatitis C in Tunisia. Literature review. In Tunisia, the prevalence of HCV infection is about 0, 7 % in the general population with an increased transmission in the north of the country. Genotype 1b is the most frequent [76 % - 88 %]