The Suggested Relationships Between Common GI Symptoms and Joint Hypermobility, POTS, and MCAS.

An increasing number of reports suggest an association between a newly recognized disease cluster and significant and often disabling gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. This cluster is composed of diagnoses of hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSDs) such as joint hypermobility and hypermobile variant Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). The diagnosis of these entities remains a challenge, as the pathophysiology of each has not been completely elucidated and the diagnostic criteria continue to evolve.

Biological Therapies for the Management of Enteric Disease: Considerations for the Clinician.

Several biologic therapies have been approved for enteric diseases. We evaluate each biologic's role based on their mechanism of action in treating these conditions. This review examines data on efficacy and safety, as well as considerations for using these therapies in clinical practice in inflammatory bowel diseases, enteric infections-specifically colitis-and potentially in the increasingly prevalent disorder of eosinophilic esophagitis.

Evaluation of the combination therapy of hydroxyurea and thalidomide in β-thalassemia.

Transfusion-related complications and lack of resources in low-to-middle-income countries have led to a search for novel therapies to reduce the need for blood transfusions in patients with β-thalassemia. Hydroxyurea (HU) has demonstrated promising outcomes; additionally, thalidomide has also shown improvement in hemoglobin (Hb) levels for patients with β-thalassemia in some studies. This study presents the findings of a single-arm nonrandomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of combination therapy of HU and thalidomide in children with β-thalassemia.

Primary Hepatic Neuroendocrine Tumor With Ectopic Adrenocorticotropic Hormone Production.

This report describes the case of a 63-year-old female with a metastatic neuroendocrine tumor (NET). Imaging studies revealed a primary hepatic NET (PHNET) originating in the porta hepatis and associated with extensive hepatic metastasis. This represents an extremely rare presentation of PHNET associated with ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production and hypercortisolism.

Renal Denervation in Hypertension.

The column in this issue is supplied by Drs. Benjamin Lee, MD, and Usman Ansari, DO. Dr.