BackgroundPituitary abscess is a rare condition with nonspecific symptoms that can be delayed. Proper diagnosis needs to occur preoperatively so that the management can be set up accordingly. Accurate diagnosis is challenging because many differential diagnoses can exhibit the same magnetic resonance imaging features.Case presentationWe report two cases of pituitary abscess. The first patient was a 66-year-old Arab woman who underwent a surgical procedure for a pituitary macroadenoma and presented 3 months later with chronic headaches and panhypopituitarism. A pituitary abscess was found on the follow-up magnetic resonance imaging. The second patient was a 64-year-old Arab man with no medical history who presented with a chiasmal syndrome with headaches and panhypopituitarism. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed a heterogeneous pituitary mass that turned out to be a pituitary abscess intraoperatively. These two patients were treated with hormone substitution, endoscopic transsphenoidal drainage, and antibiotherapy, with excellent outcomes.ConclusionsPituitary abscess is a rare and serious condition. Preoperative diagnosis can be challenging because of the many existing differential diagnoses upon imaging. Magnetic resonance imaging is the mainstay technique of imaging due to its multimodal nature. These cases demonstrate the variable patterns of a pituitary abscess seen on magnetic resonance imaging and the potential difficulties in achieving an accurate diagnosis preoperatively due to many other conditions potentially exhibiting the same magnetic resonance imaging features.

Introduction: Neuroglobin (Ngb) owes its name to its preferred location in the nervous system. Its plasma concentration increases during cerebral ischemia. However, the interest of its dosage in the diagnosis and the prognosis of the strokes in the adult is not defined. Objectives: To determine if plasmatic Ngb can be used as a diagnostic biomarker and prognostic for stroke in adults at the acute phase. Population and Methods: This was a prospective study in 69 people, including 39 suspected stroke (Cerebral ischemia or CI, Intracerebral hemorrhage or ICH) and 30 healthy volunteers (controls). The plasma concentration of Ngb (CmNgb in ng/ml) of the patients was determined at admission day (d1), at the third day (d3) and seventh day (d7). CmNgbtaken at d1 was compared between patients and controls. Its evolution over time, as well as its relation with the clinical parameters, including the Glasgow coma scale and the short-term mortality in stroke subjects was analyzed by the Mann and Whitney tests and the Wilcoxon test (p < 0.05). Results: At d1, the CmNgb of all types of stroke was 3.140 ± 2.700 ng/ml, and did not differ significantly from controls (0.303 ± 0.114 ng/ml, p = 0.070). On the other hand, it was higher in CI victims (5.800 ± 0.720 ng/ml) than in ICH (1.750 ± 0,090 ng/ml) (p = 0.030). It then decreased on d3 in CI victims (2.600 ± 0.112 ng/ml) and ICH (0.420 ± 0.211 ng/ml), returning to normal on d7 (0.420 ± 0.200 ng/ml for CI's, p = 0.001, and 0.360 ± 0.300 ng/ml for ICH, p = 0.002). There was a relationship between CmNgb, delay of How to cite this paper: Nnang Essone,

The involvement of the pituitary stem frequently encountered since the development of pituitary imaging is revealed by diabetes insipidus in the majority of cases. The pituitary stem can be the target of various pathologies, infectious, infiltrative, and tumor. In cases where the etiological investigation is negative, genetic abnormalities may be incriminated. Through our case we show the variability of conditions that can reach the pituitary stem as well as the role of imaging in the etiological investigation to arrive at hypotheses requiring confirmation at histology or close monitoring of lesions.

Résumé : Le chémodectome est une tumeur rare développée au dépend des cellules paraganglionnaires de la carotide dont l’étiologie reste inconnue. Nous rapportons le cas d’une patiente de 78 ans chez qui une masse cervicale hypervasculaire au niveau de la région carotidienne a été découverte de façon fortuite au cours d’une TDM du massif facial pour suspicion de cellulite. Le complément par angioscanner cervical a permis de poser le diagnostic de chémodectome carotidien. Le chémodectome carotidien est généralement asymptomatique. L’imagerie et notamment l’angioscanner permet d’en faire le diagnostic. La chirurgie est le seul traitement curatif, toutefois devant les risques élevés de celle-ci la surveillance est souvent de mise. Abstract: Carotid body paraganglioma is a rare tumor arising from paraganglia cells of the carotid body. The exact cause is unknown. We report the case of a 78-year-old female patient in which a hyper-vascular cervical mass of the carotid region was discovered incidentally during a facial CT for suspicion of cellulitis. A complementary cervical CT angiography made it possible to make the diagnosis of carotid chemodectoma. Carotid chemodectoma is usually asymptomatic. Imaging, particularly CT angiography, can be used to make the diagnosis. Surgery is the only curative treatment. However, given the high risks of surgery, monitoring is often appropriate.

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