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Introduction: Anemia is a common problem among the elderly, which requires an etiological research. Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of different causes of anemia in the elderly. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective study performed in the department of Hematology, CHU Mohamed VI Marrakech, from the 1 st January, 2008 to December 31, 2010. Including criteria was all patients older than 65 years with anemia. Results: One hundred and six cases of anemia were collected (average of 35 cases per year). The average age of patients was 72 years (66-99 years), 58% of patients were male and 42% female (sex ratio M / F: 1, 4). The clinical signs were dominated by pallor (100%), asthenia (100%) and cardiovascular signs (56.6%). Mean hemoglobin was 7.2 g / dl (3.2 - 9.4 g / dl). The etiology of anemia was identified in 90 % of cases. The causes were dominated by nutritional deficiency (37.8 %), anemia of inflammation (19 %) and myelodysplastic syndromes (15 %). Conclusion: nutritional deficiency is the first cause of anemia in the elderly. Their detection and early correction reduce the impact of anemia in terms of morbidity and mortality and improve quality of life in this patient population.

Myeloid sarcoma (MS) is an extramedullary tumour consisting of myeloblasts or immature myeloid cells located in an extramedullary site. It may occur at presentation of AML, at relapse, or prior to the onset of frank leukemia. We report a rare case of MS developing in prexisting Hydroxyurea-induced leg Ulcer in a 70-year-old woman.

Biermer's disease is an autoimmune atrophic gastritis of the fundus predominantly responsible for a malabsorption of vitamin B12. Despite its association with several autoimmune disorders, few observations have reported an association with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). We report a case of Biermer's disease associated with AIHA in a patient of 66 years old.

Aplastic anemia is a rare disease caused by destruction of pluripotent stem cells in bone marrow. The occurrence of aplastic anemia during pregnancy is rare and can be fatal for both mother and child. The association is not well explained and there is no consensus on optimal management. We report the case of 30 years-old women treated for aplastic anemia during pregnancy, the evolution is favorable.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) can be regarded as a rare opportunistic infection in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We report the case of a 20-year-old woman treated for ALL. During maintenance treatment, the patient presents with pallor, prolonged fever and asthenia. The examination objective splenomegaly and blood counts showed pancytopenia. The bone marrow aspiration confirmed the diagnosis of VL. The patient was treated with antimoniate of meglumine with good evolution.

The association between paraneoplasic nephrotic syndrome and Hodgkin's disease is rare. We report a case of Hodgkin's lymphoma in a young female patient with nephrotic syndrome. A 40-year-old woman presented with the clinical symptoms of nephrotic syndrome, kidney biopsy revealed minimal change glomerulonephritis. A treatment with prednisone was started but the response was partial. Twenty-four months after the diagnostic of nephrotic syndrome was made, she presented prolonged fever and weight loss, the physical examination showed cervical lymphadenopathy, which lymph node biopsy revealed Hodgkin lymphoma of the nodular sclerosing type. The patient was treated for Hodgkin disease stage IVB with ABVD regimen, and was in complete remission of both Hodgkin's disease and nephrotic syndrome.