[Giant cell myositis and myasthenia gravis: a case report].

We report the case of a 63-year-old patient with muscular weakness in the context of a myasthenia gravis evolving for 4 years. Although myasthenia gravis was under control, aggravation of muscular weakness led to perform a muscular biopsy. It showed a giant cell myositis, which is usually described in sarcoidosis but can also be found in a context of myositis associated with myasthenia gravis.

Stroke thrombolysis in the emergency department as an alternative service for community hospitals lacking a stroke unit.

Objective: A significant advancement in the management of acute ischemic stroke has been the use of the recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA). French guidelines recommend that stroke patients should be treated in stroke units (SU); however, community hospitals experience practical difficulties in treating their patients because SUs are not sufficient in number. Only one SU is available in the Aquitaine area (southwest of France) and it is located in Bordeaux.

[Feasibility of stroke thrombolysis at Pau Hospital, France].

Background: Stroke is the most common cause of permanent disability in Europe and is a major public health problem. A recent significant therapeutic advance is the administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) for cerebral infarcts within three hours of symptom onset. French guidelines limit its use to patients in specialized stroke units.

Crow-Fukase (POEMS) syndrome: a study of peripheral nerve biopsy in five new cases.

The pathogenesis of Crow-Fukase (POEMS) syndrome is not well known, and in some cases, a definite diagnosis is difficult to establish. Nerve fibers have been studied in about 120 peripheral nerve biopsies (PNBs), and a mixture of axonal and demyelinating lesions were found in most of them. We report five new cases of Crow-Fukase (POEMS) syndrome with ultrastructural examination of their PNBs.