A Spectacular Effect of Tocilizumab in Takayasu Arteritis.

Background: Anti-interleukin-6 receptors (anti-IL-6R) have been a promising new therapeutic alternative in the treatment of Takayasu arteritis.

Case Description: We report the case of a 34-year-old patient with Takayasu arteritis diagnosed in 2017. While she was on corticosteroid and methotrexate, the patient presented twice with clinical and radiological signs of activity, requiring an increase of corticosteroid dose and an increase in the methotrexate dose to 20 mg/week.

Ear, Nose, and Throat sarcoidosis: An etiology that should raise a flag? About two case reports.

Introduction: Sarcoidosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by non-caseous necrotizing epithelial cell granulomas that can affect any organ. Ear, nose, and throat (ENT) involvement is rare. We report two cases of systemic sarcoidosis with ENT onset.

[Impact of therapeutic education on adherence in patients treated with anti-vitamins K].

Introduction: Therapeutic education of the patient (TPE) treated with AVK has improved the safety and efficiency of this treatment by establishing a new doctor-patient relationship. The objective of our study was to assess the impact of a TPE program on adherence in patients treated with AVK.

Methods: We conducted a prospective interventional study between January and September 2020, including two groups of patients hospitalized for a first thromboembolic: a G1 group with conventional service support and a G2 group with an ETP program created during this work.

Elevated Interleukin-21 expression is correlated with systemic sclerosis' severity in Tunisian patients.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), a rare and lethal autoimmune disorder where patients presents diverse clinical features, therefore unravelling a potential biomarker within a specific cohort is crucial for improving patient care, especially for rare diseases. This study sought to identify potential biomarkers in Tunisian SSc patients. Gene expression analysis of interleukins (IL)-21 and IL-22 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qrt-pcr), revealed upregulated IL-21 and downregulated IL-22 in SSc patients compared to healthy controls.

[Not Available].

Aim: To describe characteristics of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with infectious complications and to determine frequency, clinical and microbiological features and outcomes of reported infections.

Methods: This is a descriptive, retrospective study conducted over an 11-year period at the Internal Medicine Department La Rabta Hospital Tunis, collecting medical records of SLE patients who had experienced infectious complications.

Results: Fifty-six patients were included, consisting of 52 females and 4 males (gender ratio M/F= 0.

Imbalance of TH17/TREG cells in Tunisian patients with systemic sclerosis.

Fibrosis is a pathological manifestation in which connective tissue replaces normal one. It can affect many tissues from the skin to internal organs such as the lungs. Manifestations of pulmonary involvement can be pulmonary arterial hypertension or pulmonary fibrosis.

Influence of diet quality on nutritional status of school-aged children and adolescents in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Background: Malnutrition among young children and adolescents poses a serious health challenge in developing countries which results in many health problems during adulthood. Poor diet quality is known as the root cause of malnutrition which is caused by unhealthy food choices and bad eating habits among young children and adolescents. However, limited evidence is available on diet quality and its association with nutrition status among young children and adolescents in Zanzibar.

Adult-onset Still's disease after SARS-Cov-2 infection.

Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is an uncommon inflammatory disorder. AOSD and SARS-Cov-2 infection share clinical and laboratory features, including systemic inflammation. A 19-year-old woman had prolonged fever for 3 weeks, joint pain, and biological inflammatory syndrome.

Erdheim-Chester disease: A multisystem disease case illustration with rare manifestations and treatment challenges.

Erdheim-Chester disease is a rare multisystemic disease. A 50-year-old woman, presented with a recurrent pain and swelling of the left knee. Bone scintigraphy showed increased tracer uptake of peripheral skeleton.

Heritage language learners of English: Linguistic gaps and cognitive strengths.

Purpose: This study examined whether Heritage Language Learners (HLLs) of English display profile effects in their performance on knowledge- and processing-dependent measures relative to the standardised mean scores of monolingual speakers. The study also investigated the influence of several experiential factors on HLL performance.

Method: Participants were 59 Arabic-speaking HLLs from six to nine years old.

Management of patients with cardiovascular diseases during Ramadan.

During the month of Ramadan, over one billion Muslims observe a water and food fast from sunrise to sunset. The practice of this religious duty causes marked changes in eating and sleeping habits. With the increasing incidence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, the number of patients with CV pathologies who wish to fast is increasing worldwide, and in Tunisia, which is ranked as a high CV risk country.

Unilateral pseudouveitis revealing a pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma: A case report.

Neuroendocrine tumors are a heterogeneous group of tumors with a wide range of malignant potential that tend to have a relative prolonged course. These tumors infrequently metastasize to the orbit. To the best of our knowledge, ocular metastases from pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) have never been reported in the literature.

Prevalence and Determinants of Anemia among Children in Zanzibar, Tanzania: Analysis of Cross-Sectional Population Representative Surveys.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and its determinants among children aged 6-59 months in Zanzibar, Tanzania, from 2005 to 2015. We used secondary data from the Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys from three different periods: 2005, 2010, and 2015. A sample of 3502 child-mother pairs from three survey datasets was used to analyze the overall prevalence of anemia and reveal its determinants.

Aplastic anemia secondary to tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia.

Introduction: Nilotinib, as the second generation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has significant efficacy in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia resistant or intolerant to Imatinib. Aplastic anemia induced by tyrosine kinase inhibitors is an uncommon complication.

Case Report: A 34-year-old female case with CML in the chronic phase was treated with Imatinib in first-line therapy.

TH17 cells expressing CD146 are significantly increased in patients with Systemic sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by vascular damage, excessive fibrosis and abnormal T cells immune-regulation. CD146 is an adhesion molecule essentially expressed in the vascular system, but also on TH17 lymphocytes. In view of the recently described role of CD146 in SSc, we hypothesized an involvement of CD146 positive TH17 cells in this disease.

Association of systemic beta-defensin-1 and -20G/A DEFB1 gene polymorphism with Behçet's disease.

Background: Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. Beta-defensins are antimicrobial peptides involved in epithelial host defense. To explore whether beta-defensins might be involved in BD pathogenesis, we examined plasma human beta-defensin-1 (hBD-1) and DEFB1 -20G/A polymorphism in BD patients.

[Panniculitis in patient undergoing treatment for dermatomyositis with methotrexate].

Panniculitis is a rare cutaneous manifestation of dermatomyositis (DM). The appearance of panniculitis during treatment with methotrexate (MTX) is exceptional and has only been described in 3 cases. We report a case of a 50-year-old woman suffering from DM since 1997 who was treated with corticosteroids showing favorable clinical and biological evolution.

[Gaucher's disease uncovered late].

Gaucher's disease is an uncommon inborn recessive autosomal disease, due to a deficient activity of the lysosomal enzyme beta glucocerebrosidase. This disease is usually diagnosed in the first or second decade of life with the arising of bone pains, splenomegaly and hemorragic manifestations due to thrombocytopenia. When the enlarged spleen is not evident, or after splenectomy, patients may be mis-identified as having Gaucher's disease.