A six-month-old male domestic shorthair cat was referred with a history of acute-onset paraplegia, over the previous two months. The neurological examination revealed a thoracolumbar lesion. After myelography and myelo-computed tomography (myelo-CT), the diagnosis of a T13-L1 subarachnoid pseudocyst potentially related to a previous L1 vertebral body fracture or malformation was made. Surgical decompression consisted in dorsal laminectomy followed by durotomy and marsupialisation. Immediately after surgery the cat improved neurologically and showed progressive improvement of his neurological signs over the next few months, until he died, from unrelated causes, approximately 18 months after surgery. Case descriptionA six-month-old male domestic short hair cat with a two month history of acute paraplegia, was referred to the Teaching

A 44-year-old woman with fetal thalidomide syndrome and congenital pseudoainhum of the left big toe had a 5-year history of painful nonhealing ulcers in the left malleolar region. Venous Doppler ultrasonography showed hypoagenesis of the valve flaps of the deep and superficial venous circuit. To our knowledge, this is the first description of congenital pseudoainhum associated with fetal thalidomide syndrome. The coexistence of cutaneous ulcers in our case might be coincidental but may be related to a congenital valve defect (hypoagenesis) caused by thalidomide.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an auto-immune inflammatory progressive disorder which in the absence of appropriate treatment can lead to joint destruction and disability in the long run. Prognosis of RA may be predicted based on the presence of clinical and laboratory evidences. New criteria for classification of RA provide opportunity for earlier treatment. Hence this article reviews the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.