Ethnic and socio-cultural specificities in Tunisia have no impact on the prevalence of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in Crohn's disease patients, their relatives or associated clinical factors.

Background: In Western Europe and the USA, the presence of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCAs) in Crohn's disease (CD) patients and their healthy relatives suggests that ASCAs may be influenced by genetic and/or environmental factors.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of ASCAs in Tunisian patients with CD or ulcerative colitis (UC), and unaffected family members, in relation to clinical phenotype. Patients and methods.

[Tumors of the vaterian region indications, findings and prognosis : about 49 cases].

This retrospective study is about 49 cases of tumors of the vaterian region collected between 1976 and 2001. Tumors of the vaterian region represented 7% of the bilio-pancreatic tumors. The study was about 18 women and 31 men, with sex-ratio of 1.

[Meteorologic conditions and esophageal varices rupture].

Background: While meteorologic conditions are thought to be related to the incidence of certain cardiac and cerebrovascular events, very little information is available concerning the onset of variceal bleeding. We undertook this study to determine whether there is any correlation between esophageal variceal hemorrhage and several meteorologic and astronomic parameters.

Methods: Sixty-seven episodes of bleeding from ruptured esophageal varices observed in 52 patients from southern Tunisia during a 7-Year period were studied retrospectively.