Epigenome alterations in aortic valve stenosis and its related left ventricular hypertrophy.

Aortic valve stenosis is the most common cardiac valve disease, and with current trends in the population demographics, its prevalence is likely to rise, thus posing a major health and economic burden facing the worldwide societies. Over the past decade, it has become more than clear that our traditional genetic views do not sufficiently explain the well-known link between AS, proatherogenic risk factors, flow-induced mechanical forces, and disease-prone environmental influences. Recent breakthroughs in the field of epigenetics offer us a new perspective on gene regulation, which has broadened our perspective on etiology of aortic stenosis and other aortic valve diseases.

Cardiac myxoma the great imitators: comprehensive histopathological and molecular approach.

Cardiac myxomas are rare benign and slowly proliferating neoplasms of uncertain histogenesis with heterogeneous histomorphology and variable and sometimes clinically quite malignant pathological manifestations. Majority of cardiac myxoma occur sporadically while a relatively small proportion of diagnosed cases develop as a part of Carney complex syndrome with established familial pattern of inheritance. Although histologically indistinguishable these two forms of cardiac myxoma exhibit distinct cytogenetic make-up and apparent pathological differences important for their clinical presentation and prognosis.