Clinical Significance of Somatic Mutations in RAS/RAF/MAPK Signaling Pathway in Moroccan and North African Colorectal Cancer Patients.

Background: Mutations in RAS (KRAS, NRAS) and BRAF genes are the main biomarker predicting response to anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies in targeted therapy in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Objective: Our study aims to evaluate the frequencies of KRAS, NRAS and BRAF mutations and their possible associations with clinico-pathological features in CRC patients from Morocco.

Methods: DNA was extracted from 80 FFPE samples using the QIAamp DNA FFPE-kit.

Prevalence of specific and recurrent/founder pathogenic variants in BRCA genes in breast and ovarian cancer in North Africa.

Background: Elucidation of specific and recurrent/founder pathogenic variants (PVs) in BRCA (BRCA1 and BRCA2) genes can make the genetic testing, for breast cancer (BC) and/or ovarian cancer (OC), affordable for developing nations.

Methods: To establish the knowledge about BRCA PVs and to determine the prevalence of the specific and recurrent/founder variants in BRCA genes in BC and/or OC women in North Africa, a systematic review was conducted in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

Results: Search of the databases yielded 25 relevant references, including eleven studies in Morocco, five in Algeria, and nine in Tunisia.

[Fahr syndrome secondary to primary hypoparathyroidism: about a case].

Fahr syndrome is a rare anatomo-clinic disease whose most common cause is primary or postoperative hypoparathyroidism. It is characterized by bilateral and symmetrical intracerebral calcifications located in the central gray nuclei, most often associated with phosphocalcium metabolism disorders. We here report the case of a 54-year old patient who had been treated for primary hypoparathyroidism for 20 years, presenting with amnesic disorders revealing Fahr syndrome secondary to hypoparathyroidism.

Evaluation of ultrasensitive CRP and microalbuminuria as cardiovascular risk markers in type 2 diabetic moroccan patients.

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease whose prevalence is increasing exponentially. This condition is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death among diabetics.

Aim: To study the correlation between hs CRP, microalbuminuria, diabetes monitoring parameters and the presence of vascular complications in a group of non-insulin dependent diabetic patients followed in endocrinology department of the Moulay Ismail Military Hospital in Meknes.

[Another case of the rare complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia: angioedema].

Angioedema is a rare but may be serious (laryngeal edema). This is a recurrent edema, subcutaneous and/or submucosal, whose cause is a hereditary or acquired deficiency in C1 inhibiteur (C1 inhibitor fraction of complement). We present the case of a 56 years old patient who showed recurrent episodes of swelling of the face and hands in association with chronic lymphocytic leukemia stage A.

[Idiopathic capillary hyperpermeability syndrome revealing of Waldenström disease].

Waldenstrom disease is a rare hematologic disorder characterized by lymphoplasmacytic proliferation associated with the production of monoclonal IgM. Visceral injuries are described but some are rare (lung), others never reported (cardiac). We report for information and discussion a case representing these particular situations, considering that these attacks were revealing.

[Bilateral pleurisy revealing a myelome with free light chains complicated with an osseous amylose].

The osseous amyloidosis associated with a pleural effusion in a myeloma is a rare situation. We report a case of an association of these three disease entities for discussion. A 75-year-old man was admitted for chest pain and dyspnea with left sacred bone pain.