Hyperthyroidism is a relatively frequent condition with multiple causes. The most common cause is Graves' disease; followed by hyperthyroid multinodular goiter and toxic adenoma. Association between hyperthyroidism and cancer is infrequent in daily practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVillaret syndrome is defined by the affection of the glossopharyngeal (IX), vagal (X), accessory (XI) and hypoglossal (XII) cranial nerves associated with ipsilateral Horner syndrome. It is caused by the compression of these nerves and the neighboring sympathetic plexus fibers at the base of the skull, particularly in the retroparotid space. Even though the invasion of the central nervous system in patients with advanced lung cancer is a frequent and well known occurrence, this particular symptomatic association is extremely rare.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 54-year-old man, with a history of Cushing's disease diagnosed 32 years earlier, presented with edema, asthenia and general malaise. Abnormal laboratory studies depicted hypokalemia and metabolic alkalosis. A CT scan of the chest revealed a 3×3 cm tumor in the anterior mediastinum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGuillain-Barré syndrome is an acute demyelinating disease which presents in a classic form with muscular weakness and the lack of reflexes. There are multiple variations and atypical forms of the disease, being facial diplegia with paresthesia one of them. Also, the absence of reflexes in this syndrome is typical but not constant, since 10% of patients present reflexes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFErgotism is a clinical condition known since old times and whose main characteristics are ischemia and even limb gangrene. Some drugs have the capacity of interacting with small amounts of ergotamine or its derivatives producing ergotism as a side effect. This is the case of ritonavir, a widely used anti-HIV drug.
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