[Toxic nodular goiter]. / Les goîtres nodulaires toxiques.

INTRODUCTION: To date no study in our country was specifically dedicated on toxic nodular goiter. They were just mentioned in generally studies about hyperthyroidism. METHOD: The authors report a retrospective series of 62 cases of toxic nodular goitre collected between 1979 and 1999 at the internal medical clinic of Dakar teaching hospital. The diagnostic of toxic nodule was retained on following criteria: to existence of one or several thyroid nodule with signs or thyrotoxicosis, the existence of a hyperfixating nodule at 131 iodine scintigraphy. Increasing of T3 and/or T4 thyroide hormone. The aims of the study was to analyse the epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutics aspects. RESULTS: We are collected 49 cases of solitary nodule (79.03%) and 13 cases of multi nodular goitre (20.97%). In the cases of solitary nodule, mean age was 40 years, sex ratio of 0.04 (47 female, 2 men). The nodule was clinically diagnosed in 47 cases (95.9%) and extinctive in 73.5%. 34.3% of patients have cardiothyreosis. In the cases of multi nodular goitre mean age was 45 years, all cases were female, goitre was clinically identified in 95.3% (12 patients) and 46.5% had cardiothyreosis. 62% of patients were lost to follow up during medical treatment. Only 2 patients on the 37 who were addressed for surgery come back after thyroidectomy. CONCLUSION: This study confirm the predominance of toxic nodular goitre in young female, its severity related to cardiothyreosis and underlines the difficulties limited to the therapeutical care.

Les goitres nodulaires toxiques

Introduction : Jusqu'ici; aucune etude dans notre pays n'avait porte specifiquement sur les goitres nodulaires toxiques. Elles n'ont ete citees que dans des etudes generales des hyperthyroidies. Methodes : Il s'agit d'une etude retrospective de 62cas de goitres nodulaires toxiques colliges entre 1979 et 1999 a la clinique medicale 2 du CHU de Dakar. Le diagnostic de nodule toxique a ete retenu sur les criteres suivants : la coexistence d'un ou plusieurs nodules thyroidiens et de signes de thyrotoxicose; l'existence d'un nodule hyperfixiant a la scintigraphie thyroidienne a l'iode 131; l'elevation des hormones thyroidiennes T3 et/ou T4. Nous nous sommes interesses aux aspects epidemiologiques; cliniques; aux complications et aux aspects therapeutiques et evolutifs. Resultats : Il s'agissait de 49 nodules uniques (79;03) et de 13 goitres multi nodulaires (20;97). Dans les cas de nodules uniques; l'age moyen etait de 40 ans; le sexe ratio de 0;04 (47 femmes; 2 hommes). Le nodule etait cliniquement decelable dans 47 cas (95;9) et extinctif dans73;5; La cardiothyreose existait dans 34;6des cas. En cas de goitre multi nodulaire; l'age moyen etait de 45ans; le sexe feminin dans tous les cas. Le goitre etait cliniquement decelable chez 12 patients (95;3). La cardiothyreose existait dans 46;15des cas. 62des patients ont ete perdus de vue en cours de traitement d'equilibration de l'hyperthyroidie. Sur les 37adresses en chirurgie; seuls deux ont ete revus apres thyroidectomie. Conclusion : Cette etude confirme la predominance du goitre nodulaire toxique chez la femme jeune; sa gravite par la frequence de la cardiothyreose et souligne les difficultes liees a la prise en charge therapeutique

[Hyperthyroidism and diabetes mellitus: analysis of 10 African cases]. / Hyperthyroïdie et diabète sucré: analyse de 10 observations africaines.

This retrospective study of 10 patients with hyperthyroidisma and diabetes mellitus concerned 8 women and 2 men, aged from 15 to 77 years. The two disease developed at the same time in 8 cases. Diabetes mellitus occurred first in 2 cases. Common signs were loss of weight. Hyperthyroidism led to tachycardia at more than 100 bpm. Diarrhea was observed simultaneously in 2 cases and muscular weakness in 5. Goiter was found in 10 cases with a diffuse aspect. Graves' disease was diagnosed with exophthalmia in 9 cases and affected both eyes in 8. Elevated levels of thyroid hormones confirmed diagnosis in 8 cases. Diabetes was insulin-dependent in 3 cases and non-insulin dependent in the 7 others. IDDM patients (2 female and 1 male) were aged 15, 17 and 38. Keto acidosis was the first symptom in all cases. NIDDM patients (6 female and 1 male) were aged between 37 and 77.

[Insulin-dependent diabetes in Senegal: HLA-DR combinations according to age of onset and sex]. / Le diabète insulino-dépendant en milieu Sénégalais: combinaisons HLA-DR en fonction de l'âge d'installation et du sexe.

In insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, HLA-DR markers are involved, namely DR3, DR4 and DR9 alleles, among black senegalese populations. Studying the different associations of these alleles showed a strong predisposition to insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus with DR3/4 (p > 10(-2); OR = 13.6); DR4/9 (p < 10(-2); OR = 8.32) and DR9/9 (p < 0.05; OR = 7.78). And then it was observed a tendency to an inverse relationship of DR3/4 frequency with age of onset in male patients.

[Hypercholesterolemia in diabetes in Dakar. Sociodemographic and etiological factors and therapeutic bases]. / Hypercholestérolémie au cours du diabète à Dakar. Facteurs socio-démographiques et étiologiques et bases thérapeutiques.

This study took place between January and September 1996. The inclusion criteria was a blood cholesterol concentration of at least 2.5 g/l. Thirty-three patients were included. They were aged from 37 to 77 years, with a mean age of 59 (+/- 9.4) years. Twenty-six were women and seven were men. The mean age of the women was 58.9 (+/- 10) years and that of the men was 61 (+/- 6.1) years. Sixteen patients were from urban areas, 14 from semi-rural areas and 3 were of rural origin. The mean duration of diabetes was 9 (+/- 6.5) years. Mean post-prandial blood glucose concentration was 2.2 (+/- 1.0) g/l. Mean body mass index was 25.6 (+/- 5.6). Mean systolic blood pressure was 15.0 (+/- 2.5) cm Hg and mean diastolic blood pressure was 9.0 (+/- 1.3) mm Hg. Blood cholesterol concentration was between 2.5 g/l and 5.6 g/l, and mean HDL cholesterol concentration was 0.7 (+/- 0.4) g/l. Mean blood triglyceride concentration was 1.0 (+/- 0.4) g/l. Body mass index was negatively correlated with high cholesterol levels (r = -0.29). Hypercholesterolemia was primary, with no associated high triglyceride concentration. Cholesterol levels were also negatively correlated with post-prandial blood glucose concentration (r = -0.1). Thus, treatment should involve the prescription of drugs to reduce blood lipid concentration rather than just the restriction of lipid intake.

[Hyperthyroidism in people over 50 years of age in Senegal. Study of 31 cases observed over a 14-year period]. / Hyperthyroïdie après 50 ans en milieu sénégalais. Etude de 31 cas colligés en 14 ans.

PURPOSE: Though common in elderly, with poor and masked symptomatology, hyperthyroidism has never been studied in people older than 50 years of age in African countries. METHODS: Of the 300 cases of hyperthyroidism that were observed during this study, 31 belonged to this category. We analyzed the frequency of various parameters, demographic characteristics, motivation for consulting, thyrotoxic syndrome, non thyrotoxic signs, cardiac manifestations, hormonal and scintigraphic characteristics, etiology and etiologic factors, and treatment. RESULTS: The frequency of hyperthyroidism in this population was 10%. Housewives were more numerous, with 20 cases observed in the 31 patients. The main group (13/31) was of rural origin. Signs that predominantly led to consultation were weight loss (23/31), cervical tumor (17/31), and palpitations (12/31). Three major signs were associated with the thyrotoxic syndrome: weight loss (29 cases), tachycardia (27/31), and the existence of tremors in the extremities (22/31). Hormone assays showed that thyroxine (T4) was about 265 +/- 74 nmol/L and triiodothyronine (T3) about 6 +/- 2 nmol/L, at immunoradiometric assay; thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was about 0.17 +/- 0.23 muIU/mL. Eye protrusion predominated in the nonthyrotoxic syndrome, with 25 cases in the 31 patients. Etiologic forms of the disease were composed of 25 Grave's disease, with 22 typical cases. Etiologic factors were various, however without any case of neoplasia. Cardiac complications included two cases of atrial fibrillation. No iatrogenic form of the disease was observed. Mean initial carbimazole dosage was about 34 +/- 8 mg/d. Of the 23 patients, 15 had a favourable outcome. CONCLUSIONS: In this series, the high number of housewives and the patients' rural origin were less characteristic of hyperthyroidism than the Grave's disease etiology. This might be due to the young age of this African population.

[Thyrotoxic neuromyopathies]. / Neuromyopathies thyréotoxiques.

Chronic thyreotoxic neuromyopathy was observed in four patients. The first two cases were observed in a 43-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man. In the man, muscle disorders were the first manifestation and in the woman they were preceded by Graves' hyperthyroidism. Muscle signs were seen as functional impotency with amyotrophy of the girdle which was major in the man and minor in the woman. In a third case, a pyramidal syndrome was associated with polyneuropathy in a 28-year old man. Laboratory tests showed hyperthyroidism, neurological signs regressed with antithyroid drug therapy. A fourth case presented as thyrotoxic hypokaliemic periodic palsy in a 37-year-old man who had loss 12 kg over a two month period after a psychological stress. This man then experienced two acute episodes of hypokaliemia and hypotonic tetraplegia. These signs were linked to Graves' hyperthyroidism. Clinical course was good under carbimazole and then radioactive iodine. These four cases illustrate the reality of thyrotoxic neuromyopathies in black Africans.

[Contribution of plasma C-peptide to the classification of sugar diabetes in Dakar, Senegal]. / Apport du peptide-C plasmatique dans la classification du diabète sucré à Dakar (Sénégal).

When diabetes has been diagnosed, its classification into different types is traditionally carried out according to clinical criteria. But with arising of new parameters, one of which is C-peptide, and various subtypes of diabetes, it became more difficult. So, in order to improve the accuracy of the classification, 270 diabetic patients and 269 controls, all black senegalese subjects, were submitted to a two-step oral glucose tolerance test (0 and 120 min.) with determination of plasma glucose and C-peptide concentrations. The majority of NIDDM were confirmed at the opposite of IDDM; furthermore, it has been pointed out a group corresponding with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) among the initial controls. When comparing the two classification modes, before and after plasma C-peptide determination, it appeared statistically significant differences with p values of 10(-4) for both IDDM and NIDDM.

[Clinical characteristics of primary hypothyroidism in Dakar. Apropos of 37 cases]. / Caractéristiques cliniques de l'hypothyroïdie primaire à Dakar. A propos de 37 observations.

Primary hypothyroidism, other than cases of endemic goiter, has rarely been described in Africa. We conducted a retrospective study of the patients admitted to our hospital unit between 1985 and 1996. The inclusion criteria were clinical signs of hypothyroidism and low levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone. We investigated socio-demographic, clinical (hypometabolic syndrome, cutaneomucal syndrome, muscular syndrome) and etiological (spontaneous thyroid atrophy, thyroidectomy, multinodular goiter) factors. Overall, our study population contained 37 cases, 8 men and 29 women. The mean age of the men was 40.8 +/- 19.2 years and that of the women was 41.5 +/- 14.5 years. Eighteen patients (about 50%) lived in the suburbs, 25% of patients were from urban areas and 25% from rural areas. The associated clinical signs were: 1) hypometabolism: constipation (51% of cases), bradycardia (45%), physical asthenia (40%), sleeping during the day (32%), frilosity (35%); 2) cutaneomucal syndrome: hoarseness (48%), alopecia (32%), facial puffiness (27%), macroglossia (24%), hypoacousia (21%), weight gain (18%), dry skin (16%), pallor (2%); 3) muscular syndrome was rare: myalgia (4 cases), muscle weakness (2 cases). Mean total cholesterol concentration was 2.54 +/- 0.75 g/l; mean total T3 was 1.027 +/- 0.84 nmol/l; mean total T4 was 16.70 +/- 16.89 nmol/l; mean TSH concentration, measured by radiometry, was 63.74 +/- 51.01 mIU/l. The etiology was goiter in 13 cases, thyroidectomy (11 cases) and spontaneous thyroid atrophy (13 cases). Thus, primary hypothyroidism does occur in African hospitals, particularly in Senegal. This disease, which has traditionally been reported in public health studies of endemic goiter, also occurs in cosmopolitan African environments.

[HLA-DR:DQ genotypes and insulin-dependent diabetes in Senegal]. / Génotypes HLA-DR:DQ et diabète insulino-dépendant en milieu sénégalais.

At the opposite of HLA-DR, HLA-DQ was not well documented in homogeneous negroïd populations. So, 93 IDDM and 115 control patients, all black senegalese people, were studied. The results showed three HLA-DQ IDDM-related susceptibility genotypes and also a high risk conferred by HLA-DR4/DR9 usually described in Mongoloïd people. Furthermore, DR:DQ associations allowed the identification of three IDDM predisposition genotypes, each of them with a characteristic mean age for disease diagnosis.

[Apropos of three cases of Turner's syndrome]. / A propos de trois cas de syndrome de Turner.

The authors report 3 cases of Turner's syndrome. These rare observations in Africans are the opportunity to give clinical and cytogenetic characteristics of Turner's syndrome. The importance of molecular biology in this disease is emphasized. All this because consensus about diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations are projected.

[Basedow's disease and pregnancy in a black African population. Epidemiology and interrelations in 51 pregnancies]. / Maladie de Basedow et grossesse en milieu noir africain. Epidémiologie et interrelations dans 51 gestations.

Forty one patients with 51 pregnancies form the basis of this study of etiological factors and reciprocal effects of pregnancy and thyrotoxicosis. Pregnancy influences the course of thyrotoxicosis and may modify its diagnostic aspects, clinical course, variations in laboratory parameters and treatment. The effect of thyrotoxicosis on pregnancy may lead to abortions, premature labour and/or toxemia. It may sometimes influence the products of conception. The essential point appears to be to seek the minimal dose of antithyroid drug capable of controlling thyroid disease without impairing fetal thyroid function.

[Echographic and velocimetric aspects of arteriopathies in the diabetic]. / Aspects échographiques et vélocimétriques des artériopathies chez le diabetique.

AIMS: Study of Diabetic arteriopathies Arteriopathies in cervico encephalic arteries and lower limbs were detected both with Echography and Doppler flow velocity waveform analysis from 60 treated patients. They were shared into 34 women (57%) and 26 men (43%). Patients age varied between 39 and 77 years. 85% were non insulin dependent versus 15% insulin dependent patients. 36 patients (60%) presented arterial abnormalities, 14 of which (23.33%) were located in the lower limbs, 19 (31.66%) in the carotid arteries, and 3 (7%) in both carotid arteries and the lower limbs. Arteriopathies were found in medium aged patients (40-60 years). Arteriopathies are often noted in medium aged diabetics. The prevalence of lesions were relatively higher in supra-aortic trunks (36%) than in lower limbs arteries (28%). They are distal in lower limbs and constitute a factor of diabetes prognosis. The sensitivity and the less expensive cost of ultrasonor methods give a first choice to these technics in the patients following up and prevention of vascular complications of diabetes in Africa.

[Diabetic pregnancy in Senegal (years 1980 to 1989)]. / La grossesse diabétique au Sénégal (Années 1980 à 1989).

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Diabetic Pregnancy Prognosis in Seventies is it better in Eighties because of Patient Education? METHODOLOGY: Retrospectively, since 1980 to 1989, in Women in status to breed, Diabetic Pregnancy was screened in our Department. W.H.O.'s (1980) Diabetes Mellitus Criterias, PEDERSEN's Criterias, White's Classification were used. Studied Parameters were etiologic factors (age, type, Diabetes oldness and control), former and present Evolution of Pregnancies (term and pregnancy's product). RESULTS: A--In Global Study, 15.07% Diabetic Pregnancies were observed: 22 (37%) Insulin Dependent and 38 (63%) Non Insulin Dependent. The global mean of age was 31 years; Diabetic Mellitus was less than 10 years old in 90% cases whatever the type. Their control was not good (Glycemic Control < 1.4 g/l in less than 50%). Diabetes complications were nephropathy (13.6% and 8%), retinopathy (13.6% and 18.5%), arterial hypertension (0% and 26.32%), cetoacidosis (31.42% and 0%), urinary tract infection (18% and 0%) respectively in Insulin Dependent and Non Insulin Dependent Pregnancies. Near a third (31.6%) of Insulin Dependent and a third (33.41%) for Non Insulin Dependent were of D, F, H White's Class. Multipares were often Non Insulin Dependent and inversely Insulin Dependent frequently paucipare. Former Pregnancies had near 25.5% interrupted term in Insulin Dependents. Present Pregnancies have given 28.5% and 32% of Normal Children: 14.25 and 12% of Abortions and 14.25% and 6% of Spontaneous Premature Parturitions respectively in Insulin Dependents and Non Insulin Dependents. B--In Analytic Study of Foetopathies, bad Prognosis Factors were high Maternal Age, Multiparity, bad Glycemic Control whatever Diabetes type. For Insulin Dependent, Negligency was added and for Non Insulin Dependent, Obesity, Arterial Hypertension and all PBSP. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: A relatively mild Diabetic Pregnancy Prognosis in our areas with limited means has been observed despite of Patients Education.

[Antithrombin III in the Senegalese diabetic]. / L'antithrombine III chez le diabétique sénégalais.

The chronometric method was applied to 141 diabetics and 151 reference subjects from both sexes aged between 19 and 60 years, all of Black race and Senegalese nationality, to study the effects of Antithrombin III (AT III). A significant reduction in the physiological activity of antithrombin III (AT III) was observed for ages 36-45 and 56-60 and correlated with obesity and other complications. With our patients, insulin dependence does not seem provoke any reduction in antithrombin III's effectiveness.