[IgD myeloma. Apropos of a case].

The authors report the case of a 72 year old man admitted to hospital for thoracic pain, who was found to have an Igd myeloma of lambda type. The diagnosis, suspected, in view of anemia, raised sedimentation rate and abnormal electrophoresis of serum proteins, was confirmed by marrow examination after sternal aspiration and by the use of a specific anti-serum during immuno-electrophoresis and on Ouchteriony medium. There were radiological lesions of diffuse, decalcifying myelomatous type. The course was characterised by : 1) a constant tendency to anemia, then preterminal thrombocytopenia, whereas the leukopenia remained moderate. 2) The secondary onset of Bence-Jones proteinuria and mild albuminuria with the aggravation of pre-existing renal failure. 3) Repeated attacks of infection and the intermittent onset of mental confusion, the etiology of which was not clear. Death occurred ten months later. No autopsy was carried out. In the light of this case, the authors review the world literature and the special characteristics of IgD myeloma.