Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Gudin.
We report on a patient who presented with isolated transient headache as the only manifestation of pituitary apoplexy. A high index of suspicion and MRI led to the diagnosis. Copyright 1998 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Among the side effects attributed to sodium valproate administration, the production of a parkinsonian syndrome is very uncommon, particularly in children. We report a 12-year-old girl with secondary epilepsy; 7 days after the initiation of valproate therapy she developed parkinsonism that disappeared completely when valproate was replaced by carbamazepine. We discuss the possible role of alterations in GABAergic neurotransmission in the extrapyramidal syndrome that developed.
The sinus disease in children with "healthy hearts" is exceptional, and has never been documented by tracing of the sinus node. We are reporting two cases of two children, aged 4 and 14 years. An electrophysiological exploration with measurement of the direct activity of the sinus node, illustrates in one case the mechanism of sinus dysfunction. A review from the literature and our cases specifies some of the characteristics of this disease: 1) there are two forms: sporadic (case n. 1) 59 published cases, and familial (case n. 2) 28 published cases in 13 families; 2) the familial forms have a dominant autosomic transmission with variable penetration; 3) the disease may occur during the first days of life, suggesting a congenital origin (from the pathology findings, this disease may be one of the causes of the unexplained sudden death syndrome in infants; 4) association to atrio-ventricular conduction disorders and atrial and ventricular rhythm disorders; 5) frequent indication of stimulators, emphasizing the severity of this disease with a more severe course in sporadic forms (7 deaths in 59 cases).