Publications by authors named "Elena Forzese"

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a genetic disorder characterized by the progressive fibro-fatty replacement of the right ventricular myocardium, leading to myocardial atrophy. Although the structural changes usually affect the right ventricle, the pathology may also manifest with either isolated left ventricular myocardium or biventricular involvement. As ARVC shows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance with variable penetrance, the clinical presentation of the disease is highly heterogeneous, with different degrees of severity and patterns of myocardial involvement even in patients of the same familiar group with the same gene mutation: the pathology spectrum ranges from the absence of symptoms to sudden cardiac death (SCD) sustained by ventricular arrhythmias, which may, in some cases, be the first manifestation of an otherwise silent pathology.

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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is one of the most common genetic cardiovascular diseases, and it shows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. HCM can be clinically silent, and sudden unexpected death due to malignant arrhythmias may be the first manifestation. Thus, the HCM diagnosis could be performed at a clinical and judicial autopsy and offer useful findings on morphological features; moreover, it could integrate the knowledge on the genetic aspect of the disease.

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Kounis syndrome (KS) is an acute coronary syndrome triggered by allergic or hypersensitivity reactions. Incidence rates vary, with studies reporting 19.4 per 100.

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Background: Postmortem assessment of anaphylactic death is a challenge for forensic pathologists. One of the most frequent elicitors of anaphylaxis is insect venom. Here, a case of anaphylactic death due to Hymenoptera stings is reported to highlight the contribution of postmortem biochemistry and immunohistochemistry in assessing the cause of death.

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