Autoimmune cerebellar hypermetabolism: Report of three cases and literature overview.

We report three cases of vermian cerebellar hypermetabolism in patients with autoimmune encephalitis. One of our patients was positive for anti-Ma2 antibodies and one for anti-Zic4 antibodies while the remaining patient did not present any known antibodies. The seronegative patient deteriorated after immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment for a pulmonary adenocarcinoma and improved with immunosuppressive drugs, which is in favour of an underlying autoimmune mechanism. They all presented with subacute neurological symptoms. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was normal except in one patient, where hyperintensities were present on FLAIR sequence around the third ventricle and the cerebral aqueduct. 18F-FDG brain positron emission tomography with computed tomography (18F-FDG PET-CT) demonstrated an unusual vermian cerebellar hypermetabolism in the three cases. While cerebellar hypermetabolism on 18F-FDG PET-CT has been described in various neurological diseases, such vermian - and more broadly cerebellar - hypermetabolism was seldom described in previous studies on autoimmune encephalitis. When differential diagnoses have been ruled out, this pattern may be of interest for the positive diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis in difficult diagnostic cases.

[Refractory epicondylitis: technique of simple epicondylian tenotomy, 72 cases]. / L'épicondylite rébelle: technique de simple ténotomie des épicondyliens à propos de 72 cas.

The authors report about 72 cases of epicondylian tenotomy. It is a simple operative technique, which is described in details. This technique allows rapid post-operative course and good results in 97% of the cases.

A new device for measurement of pulmonary pressure-volume curves in patients on mechanical ventilation.

Measurement of total (lung plus chest wall) pulmonary compliance is routinely obtained in mechanically ventilated patients by dividing the tidal volume (VT) by the airway pressure (Paw) gradient from end-inspiration to end-expiration. In order to obtain the pressure-volume (P-V) tracing during inspiration, we developed a method using a continuous and slow (1.7 L/min) oxygen inflow. When gas flow is kept constant, changes in lung volume are proportional to time and do not require direct measurement. In 22 patients, P-V curves traced using the continuous-flow method were identical to those obtained from the syringe method. The advantages of the inflow method are simplicity, reproducibility, and better visualization of the initial part of P-V curve.