Evidence That HFE H63D Variant Is a Potential Disease Modifier in Cluster Headache.

Cluster headache (CH) is a primary headache disorder with a complex genetic background. Several studies indicate a potential link between iron homeostasis and the pathophysiology of primary headaches. The HFE gene encodes for a protein involved in iron metabolism, while genetic variants in HFE have been associated with hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), an iron overload disorder.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy in becker muscular dystrophy.

A 44-year-old male patient with known Becker muscular dystrophy and concomitant non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy presented to our department because of worsening heart failure and presyncope. Upon admission, the patient was in New York Heart Association functional class III despite optimal pharmacological treatment; his ECG showed sinus rhythm with left bundle branch block and a wide QRS complex. Non-sustained ventricular tachycardia was recorded during 24-hour Holter monitoring.

Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma. Presentation of two cases and review of the literature.

We present here two cases of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma, the first in a 50-year-old female and the second in a 25-year-old male. We discuss the clinical picture, histopathology and therapeutic management. The literature is also reviewed, with major emphasis on the treatment of this rare disease.

Systemic lupus erythematosus and myelofibrosis.

The coexistence of systemic lupus erythematosus and myelofibrosis is a rare occurrence. A review of the literature available to us revealed only five other patients with this combination. We have recently encountered a patient in whom these two diseases existed concomitantly, and in this report we shall describe the clinical course of our patient and discuss it in comparison with the patients described previously.

Malabsorption associated with nonmalignant immunoproliferative small intestinal disease.

Two cases of nonmalignant immunoproliferative small intestinal disease (IPSID) presenting with severe malabsorption are described. The first patient had a lymphocytic infiltrate of the lamina propria and lymphoid hyperplasia of the mesenteric lymph nodes and responded to oral tetracycline. The second patient had a polyclonal plasmacytic infiltration of the lamina propria and of the mesenteric nodes and responded only to cytotoxic treatment with cyclophosphamide.