[Sweet's syndrome: retrospective case series of 47 patients]. / Syndrome de Sweet : étude rétrospective de 47 cas.

PURPOSE: Also called acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, Sweet's syndrome is an inflammatory disorder with a prominent cutaneous expression. It is characterized by a variety of manifestations, clinical and histological findings. The objective of this study was to describe their clinical, pathological and therapeutic characteristics. METHODS: We report on a series of 47 patients who presented a Sweet's syndrome, collected in our institution in Tunis between 1997 and 2011. RESULTS: The patient population consisted of 11 men and 36 women. The mean age was 47 years with extreme ranging from 28 to 74 years. An associated disorder was observed in ten patients: inflammatory disease (three cases), inflammatory bowel disease (two cases), tuberculosis (three cases) and diabetes (three cases). One case of pregnancy was observed. Cutaneous lesions consisted of erythematous plaques or nodules. Lesions were located mainly on the upper or lower extremities. All biopsy specimens demonstrated a dermal infiltrate composed predominantly of neutrophils. Fibrinoid necrosis and intramural inflammation were observed in eight cases. CONCLUSION: The skin disorder can precede, follow, or appear concurrent with the diagnosis of an associated disease which requires careful surveillance.

Lipid profiles of judo athletes during Ramadan.

The effect of Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF) was studied on a battery of blood lipid markers in 15 elite judo athletes during a period when they were maintaining their training load without competing. Nine-to-twelve hours postprandial serum lipid and lipoproteins were measured on five occasions: before, three times during Ramadan, and three weeks post-Ramadan. Dietary data were collected using a 24-hour recall method for three days before, during and after the Ramadan month. Mean energy intake (12.9 MJ/d) remained similar throughout the study as did the macronutrient constituents of the diet. Mean body mass was slightly reduced (2 %; p < 0.01) by the end of Ramadan due mainly to a 0.65 +/- 0.68 kg decrease in body fat (p < 0.05). The RIF produced significant changes in some of the blood lipid levels: both HDL-C and LDL-C increased by 0.12 (p < 0.01) and 0.20 mmol . l (-1) (p < 0.05), respectively. During Ramadan, mean non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels decreased from 0.73 to 0.28 mmol . l (-1) (p < 0.01) during the first week, then increased (p < 0.05) to 1.22 mmol . l (-1) over the middle of Ramadan and recovered to pre-Ramadan concentrations for the end and the post-Ramadan periods. Apolipoprotein A1 (Apo-A1) levels were significantly elevated at the end (p < 0.01) and the post-Ramadan periods (p < 0.05). Three weeks after Ramadan, blood levels of glucose, NEFA, Apo-A1, and Apo-B did not return to the values observed before Ramadan. In conclusion, the present results show that the combination of the change in diet pattern during Ramadan, along with intense exercise training, induced a significant decrease in body mass associated with a reduction in body fat and changes in some of the serum lipids and lipoproteins. Nevertheless, all the measured serum parameters remained within normal levels for young and active individuals. The volunteers, in this study, were able to maintain a constant training load during RIF.

[The effect of the administration of a high dose of vitamin D3 on calculus formation in rats]. / Effets de l'administration d'une dose élevée de vitamine D3 sur la lithogénèse chez le rat.

Administration of high doses of vitamin D3 (2,600 IU/100 ml of drinking water) to adult rats, for one month, significantly altered renal function (P less than 0.01) and enhanced renal accumulation of oxalate (71.44 x 18.82 micrograms/g of tissue in treated rats vs 38.87 +/- 11.96 micrograms/g in untreated rats; P less than 0.001), phosphate (1.388 +/- 188 micrograms/g in treated rats vs 870 +/- 171 micrograms/g in untreated rats; P less than 0.01) and calcium (477 +/- 107 micrograms/g in treated rats vs 326 +/- 104 micrograms/g in untreated rats; P less than 0.01). Urinary analyses of principal promotors and inhibitors of lithogenesis revealed high calcium excretion (1,576 +/- 0.419 mg/24 hr in treated rats vs 0.969 +/- 0.214 mg/24 hr in untreated rats; p less than 0.01) and decreased magnesium excretion (0.330 +/- 0.135 mg/24 hr in treated rats vs 0.910 +/- 0.168 mg/24 hr in untreated rats; p less than 0.001). Microscopic calcium deposits were found in the medulla, especially in renal papilla. These results suggested that vitamin D3, when administered at high doses for a long time, may induce nephrocalcinosis and alter renal function.