Fontanel ultrasonography of purulent meningitis in children in Abidjan (Ivory Coast)

Reactive arthritis (ReA) is one of the most common arthritides affecting young adults. In most cases it follows urogenital or enteric bacterial infection, but its pathogenesis is not fully understood. It is generally considered a sterile arthritis which appears to involve immune response to bacterial organisms and genetic host susceptibility associated with the presence of HLA-B27 antigen. New findings suggest that in some ReA cases, viable bacteria are present inside the joints, and these organisms may cause the disease and trigger the inflammatory response. ReA manifests clinically as a rheumatoid factor negative oligoarthritis associated with enthesopathy and certain mucosal and skin lesions. Laboratory findings in ReA are non-specific. Although concepts of its pathogenesis are still evolving, so-called ReA remains an important condition to be distinguished from rheumatoid arthritis. Prognosis is generally better. Treatments with known effects in some cases include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, intra-articular corticosteroids, oral tetracyclines and sulphasalazine. The occasional chronic and severe ReA may be very difficult to treat.     

Geriatric neurorehabilitation

Rehabilitation of the elderly patient with a neurologic disease consists primarily of the coordinated actions of an interdisciplinary team of physicians. Key aspects of this process are remediation to reduce neurologic impairments, prevention of secondary complications and comorbidities, compensation to offset and adapt to residual disabilities, and maintenance of function over the long term.     

Regional expression and subcellular localization of the tyrosine-specific phosphatase SH-PTP2 in the adult human nervous system

The protein tyrosine phosphatase SH-PTP2 has been implicated in a variety of cell signaling cascades, including those mediating neuronal survival. We therefore investigated the expression of SH-PTP2 in the adult human nervous system using Western blotting, immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy. SH-PTP2 immunoreactivity was noted only in neurons, but was not restricted to a specific neuronal type or location. Immunohistochemistry showed perikaryal staining, whereas Western blotting and ultrastructural analysis suggested that SH-PTP2 is present in axons as well. While immunohistochemistry showed a Nissl-like pattern in large motor neurons, immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated a diffuse pattern of cytoplasmic staining, without apparent preferential localization. The presence of the SH2 domain-containing tyrosine-specific phosphatase SH-PTP2 in diverse neurons in the adult nervous system suggests that SH-PTP2 may play a role in a broad spectrum of neuronal responses.