[The general internal medicine department].

The Department of General Internal Medicine is devoted to the evaluation of patients with autoimmune systemic diseases, multiorganic disorders or presenting non specific symptoms such as chronic fatigue, unexplained weight loss or fever of unknown origin. The interest in salt and water metabolisms had led to original contributions in the treatment of hyponatremia in man and to the understanding of the osmotic demyelinating syndrome in a rat model of hyponatremia. The study of ageing in man and rodents had contributed to better understand lymphocyte and thyroid function in the elderly. The care for patients with various autoimmune disorders led to original observations in the pathogenicity of Sjögren's syndrome adult onset Still disease or sarcoidosis as well as the follow up of patients treated with azathioprine. Intensive collaboration with the Department of Immunology led to identify Th2 clonal lymphocytes as the cause of the so-called idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome in some patients and to define the clinical and biological features in this subset of patients.