Ethnic and socio-cultural specificities in Tunisia have no impact on the prevalence of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in Crohn's disease patients, their relatives or associated clinical factors.

BACKGROUND: In Western Europe and the USA, the presence of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCAs) in Crohn's disease (CD) patients and their healthy relatives suggests that ASCAs may be influenced by genetic and/or environmental factors. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of ASCAs in Tunisian patients with CD or ulcerative colitis (UC), and unaffected family members, in relation to clinical phenotype. Patients and methods. Seventy-seven patients (39 CD, 38 UC), 66 healthy relatives of CD patients, 16 relatives of UC patients and 70 healthy controls were studied. ASCAs were quantified with a new isotype-specific ELISA test involving an antigenic extract from S. cerevisiae strain W303 and by the original test which detects total immunoglobulins against S. cerevisiae Su1 mannan. RESULTS: The specificity of the two tests was identical (91%). The isotype-specific ASCA W303 test was more sensitive than the ASCA Su1 test for immunoglobulin detection, but some CD patients were positive only with this latter test. A high percentage of patients with CD (72%) and their unaffected family members (35%) were ASCA-positive in contrast to UC patients (16%) and their relatives (0%) and controls (8.6%). ASCAs were shown to be independent of rural or urban living, disease activity, but were associated with ileal location. The antigen of S. cerevisiae strain W303 discriminated patients depending on age at onset or location of the disease. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the antigenic heterogeneity of S. cerevisiae strains in their ability to detect ASCA. It suggests that ASCAs are markers of immunoregulatory disturbance in CD, independently of ethnic/cultural differences between Europe, the USA and North Africa.

[Tumors of the vaterian region indications, findings and prognosis : about 49 cases]. / Les tumeurs de la region vaterienne: indications, resultats et pronostic: a propos de 49 cas.

This retrospective study is about 49 cases of tumors of the vaterian region collected between 1976 and 2001. Tumors of the vaterian region represented 7% of the bilio-pancreatic tumors. The study was about 18 women and 31 men, with sex-ratio of 1.7. The mean age was 61 years. Treatment was surgical : cephalic duodeno-pancreatectomy (28 patients) or ampullectomy (5 patients). Rate of tumor resectability was 69.4%. Bilio-digestive derivation was practiced on 13 patients and therapeutic abstention was decided for 3 patients. Age over 65 years, rate of bilirubine superior to 120 mmol/l and surgery done in emergency were elements of bad prognosis that increased post-operative mortality of following cephalic duodeno-pancreatectomy. Global mortality and morbidity were respectively 16% and 24%. Factors of poor prognosis were essentially: Tumor of large size, infiltration of the surrounding structures and tumor with metastases. The survival after bilio-digestive derivation didn't pass the 8 months. Five year survivals cephalic duodeno-pancréatectomy represented 20%. It depended on the degree of the local invasion. This 5 years survival rate to was 85% for stage I (classification of Martin) and 10% for stage IV.

[Cutaneous metastasis of Crohn's disease]. / Localisations cutanées métastatiques d'une maladie de Crohn.

INTRODUCTION: Involvement of the skin in Crohn's disease is rare. We report the case of a young woman presenting cutaneous nodules revealing a Crohn's disease. CASE REPORT: R. K. a 19 year old woman was admitted the impatient clinic for a 2 week history of nodular lesions of the extremities. Simultaneously, she had watery diarrhoea and abdominal pain associated with a bad general condition and fever. Skin examination showed ulcerated lesions with a non infiltrated inflammatory bader of the left food and the right calf associated with an abscess of the left forearm. Skin biopsy showed an inflammatory infiltrate of the deep dermis with tuberculoid noncaseating granulomas. Colonoscopy demonstrated multiple ulcers, a "globlestone appearance" of the glow and segmental glitis. Colonoscopy was followed by a peritonitis which made steroid therapy questionable. Meanwhile, the patient underwent a colonostomy and was fed intravenously, the skin lesions resolved. A follow up colonoscopy demonstrated colon polyps, and the biopsy of the colon showed features of colitis and "follicular" duodenitis which was in concordance with the diagnosis of Crohn's disease. COMMENTARIES: Usually, cutaneous lesions in Crohn's disease are consistent with nodules and granulomatous fissures of the grain. Involvement of the mucosa is rare. We report the case of "metastatic" localisation of nodular abscesses in Corhn disease. Improvement of cutaneous lesions might be explained by the nonuse of the digestive track allowed by the parenteral supplementation.

[Meteorologic conditions and esophageal varices rupture]. / Conditions météorologiques et ruptures de varices oesophagiennes.

BACKGROUND: While meteorologic conditions are thought to be related to the incidence of certain cardiac and cerebrovascular events, very little information is available concerning the onset of variceal bleeding. We undertook this study to determine whether there is any correlation between esophageal variceal hemorrhage and several meteorologic and astronomic parameters. METHODS: Sixty-seven episodes of bleeding from ruptured esophageal varices observed in 52 patients from southern Tunisia during a 7-Year period were studied retrospectively. All patients underwent endoscopic examination within 24 hours of admission. The date of the event (variceal rupture) was considered--if no stigmates of active bleeding were found at endoscopy--as the day of occurrence of the hematemesis and the day preceding melena. Meteorologic readings (11 parameters) plus moon-cycle, circadian and seasonal distribution of the 67 days of variceal bleeding in comparison with a control period of days randomly selected among 134 days without rupture. RESULTS: No relationship was found between variceal bleeding and mean atmospheric pressure, daily hours of sunshine, nebulosity, direction and velocity of wind and mean humidity. On the contrary, a significant correlation was observed with the mean temperature (18 degrees C vs 21.16 degrees C; p=0003), rainfall (p<0.01) and stormy weather (p=0.008), the latter being the only parameter retained as an independent factor at multivariate analysis: OR=13.37 (95% CI=1.5-118.5). Furthermore, a negative correlation was found with full moon but only at univariate analysis (p=0.04). The seasonal distribution of variceal bleeding episodes showed the highest percentage during winter with a significant variation at multivariate analysis: OR=3.2 (95% IC=1.6-6.54). Occurrence of variceal bleeding also showed a circadian variation with the higher prevalence night between 6 and 0 PM (p<0.001).