Meige syndrome (MS) is a rare type of focal dystonia characterized by unintentional bilateral activity in facial and mandibular muscles in combination with blepharospasm (spasm in the orbicular muscle). Often unknown cause, MS can be primary (idiopathic) or secondary (to medications or brain degenerative pathologies). Its treatment is based in most cases on botulinum toxin injections, not available in our environment. Nevertheless, clonazepam treatment has allowed us to improve the symptoms of our patients. We report MS in three patients, all with no particular history of consulting for involuntary facial movements. The diagnosis of MS was essentially based on the clinical picture. After treatment with clonazepam, the clinical course in all three patients was marked by the almost complete disappearance of these abnormal movements. In all cases, clinical progress was favorable with an average decline of 12 months; no recidivism was noted.

Purpose: This study aims to determine the quality of life (QOL) related to the health of people with epilepsy (PWE) followed in ambulatory care at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital Center in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Methods: A total of 302 adults with epilepsy followed in ambulatory care at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital Center in Goma were interviewed in this cross-sectional study. The QOL was measured using a validated French-language version of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31 inventory (QOLIE-31). Results: The mean age was 28.4±11.0 years and 56.9% were males. The mean total QOLIE-31 score was 47.7±11.0. The highest subscale score was overall QOL with a mean of 57.5±15.0 and the lowest was medication effects with 39.7±27.5. Unemployment, presence of seizures, tobacco use, and co-morbidities (medical or psychiatric) significantly affected QOL (p < 0.05). All QOL subscales showed a significant correlation with seizure frequency, except for medication effects. Conclusion: Worrying about seizures had the major contribution to QOL, while the medication effects had the least. This study confirms the importance of seizure control for better QOL in Congolese PWE.

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS), also known as Tourette disorder or Tourette syndrome, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by the presence of multiple motor and one or more vocal/phonic tics. These tics are generally more common during childhood and reach a maximum severity between 10 and 12 years. Ticks tend to decrease during late adolescence and adulthood in a majority of patients. We report an observation of GTS diagnosed in a 12-year-old child who was taken care of by clonazepam with a good improvement in its symptomatology. This condition has been reported only very rarely in black sub-Saharan Africans and this is probably the first case of GTS reported in Central Africa.