Cystic hygroma and lymphangioma, currently defined as ‘lymphatic malformations', are developmental abnormalities of the lymphoid system with potential for rapid expansion. The management of these abnormalities depends on the site and extent of the lesion. A different disease is diffuse lymphangiomatosis. It is very rare at birth and its treatment remains controversial. A lymphatic malformation (cystic hygroma) of the neck of a newborn girl as the first sign of diffuse lymphangiomatosis and treatment of the latter condition with sirolimus are presented. A newborn girl with a presumed isolated lymphatic malformation of the neck and significant respiratory involvement was diagnosed via total-body nuclear magnetic resonance imaging to be affected by diffuse lymphangiomatosis; she was treated with sirolimus. The treatment with sirolimus was found to be very effective, with complete resolution of the disease, good tolerability, and no side effects. This report suggests the need to explore the possibility of diffuse lymphangiomatosis in neonates with apparently isolated lymphatic malformations. In the presence of clinical deterioration, sirolimus treatment may achieve excellent results with no adverse events.

SUMMARYBetween 1987 and 1989, the prevalence of antibody to cytomegalovirus (CMV) was determined, by the ELISA method, in serum samples from 1494 apparently healthy subjects, 3-18 years old. Subjects were selected by a systematic cluster sampling from five geographical areas in Italy. The overall prevalence of antibody was 64-2 %, increasing from 54'4 % in 4-6-year-olds to 73-3 % in subjects 17-18 years old (P < 0'01). Prevalence of antibody was significantly higher in females (P < 0'05) and in subjects residing in the South of Italy (P < 0'01). A significant association was found with sociodemographic factors. Subjects belonging to a household with six or more persons had a 1P5-fold risk (CI. 95% = 1i 11-204) and subjects whose fathers had less than 6 years of schooling had a 1*4-fold risk (C.I. 95% = 1 1-187) of previous exposure to CMV infection. The high prevalence (74-4 %) of young women who are naturally immune when entering childbearing years does not guarantee that there will be a low risk of fetal infection.

We describe a child with thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome in whom a refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) developed at 9 years. Recently, it has been demonstrated, in a large cohort of patients with TAR syndrome, that microdeletion on chromosome 1q21.1 is the characteristic genetic alteration. This genetic alteration was found in the affected son and in maternal lineage. Our data confirm the role played by the 1q21.1 microdeletion in the pathogenesis of TAR syndrome proposing a panel of polymorphic markers for a rapid and low-cost screening of 1q21.1 microdeletion. We do not know if the occurrence of two rare diseases as of TAR syndrome and LCH could be considered a chance association; at our knowledge, a genetic link does not seem to be present between the diseases. Descriptions of additional cases of LCH in patients with TAR syndrome are necessary before a cause and effect relationship can be proven.

Chromosome 14q11-q22 deletion syndrome (OMIM 613457) is a rare genomic disorder whose associated phenotype is heterogeneous, depending on the size, and, mostly, on the deleted region. We report the clinical and molecular characterization of a female newborn, whose phenotype was characterized by poor growth, dysmorphic facial features, subclinical hypothyroidism, and mild reduction of CD3CD8 Lymphocytes with increased CD4/CD8 ratio. By array-CGH, we identified a 4.08 de novo interstitial deletion of the 14q13.2q21.1 region, which includes 16 OMIM genes.Our patient phenotype is compared with other published cases, for a better classification of the 14q11-q22 deletion syndrome. We demonstrated that the 14q13.2q21.1 deletion, which encompasses NKX2-1, but not FOXG1 gene and HPE8 region, identifies a well defined, more benign, microdeletion syndrome. This report confirms that an early identification with accurate characterization of the genomic disorders is of great relevance, enabling proper genetic counseling of the reproductive risk, as well as disease prognosis, and patient management. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Catamenial hemoptysis is a rare condition characterized by cyclic pulmonary hemorrhage, synchronous with menses and associated with the presence of intrapulmonary or endobronchial endometrial tissue. Because of the paucity of cases reported in the literature, information regarding the natural history is limited and also the optimal diagnostic workup and management of these patients are not well defined. In this report, we present a case of endobronchial endometriosis in a 12-year-old female diagnosed by bronchoscopy and immunocytochemical assay, associated with type 1 von Willebrand disease.