Morphological evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples by light microscopy is the method of choice for the detection of central nervous system involvement in patients with haematological malignancies. In this retrospective study, we assessed the value of three-colour immunophenotyping by flow cytometry in addition to conventional cytology in 28 patients with and 17 patients without pre-existent haematological malignancy in whom CSF analysis was performed because of neurological abnormalities (n = 37) or as part of routine staging procedures (n = 8). Four samples could not be analysed by flow cytometry because of insufficient cell numbers. CSF involvement was detected in a total of 18 patients, in 12 by both cytology and flow cytometry, and in three each by either cytology or flow cytometry alone. Discordant results were particularly frequent in patients with low CSF cell numbers and B cell neoplasms. When combined with conventional cytology, flow cytometric analysis improves the detection rate of CSF involvement in patients with haematological malignancies. It is particularly useful in B cell neoplasms with low CSF cell numbers.

Objective Several studies have shown an increased prevalence of right-to-left shunt (RLs) in migraine patients , particularly those with aura. However, the prevalence of RLs and its relation to Japanese patients with migraine are unknown. We investigated the prevalence of RLs in Japanese patients with migraine. Methods In total, 112 consecutive patients with migraine were recruited from our headache outpatient clinic. Migraine with aura (MA) and migraine without aura (MWOA) were diagnosed according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta-version). Contrast transcranial Doppler ultra-sound was used to detect RLs, including patent foramen ovale (PFO). Then, the associations between RLs and patients' backgrounds and presence of aura were assessed. Results The overall prevalence of RLs and PFO in migraine patients was 54.5% and 43.8%, respectively. The prevalence of RLs and PFO in the MA group were significantly higher than in the MWOA group (RLs, 62.9% vs. 44.0%, p=0.046; PFO, 54.8% vs. 30.0%, p=0.008). There were no marked differences in the prevalence of large, middle and small shunts between MA and MWOA patients. Compared with the MWOA patients , the MA patients were younger (p=0.013) and had early onset age (p=0.013) and increased prevalence of photophobia (p=0.008). Conclusion RLs were found in over half of the Japanese patients with migraine. Our study suggests a possible link between RLs and MA.

Our study does not support a major contribution of the HCRTR2 G1246A polymorphism to the pathogenesis of migraine in contrast to its effects in cluster headache.

We report a case-control study with 251 unrelated migraine patients and 192 unrelated healthy controls to evaluate an association between the polymorphisms of the 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) gene rs2066713 and rs1979572 and different migraine phenotypes. We found a genetic association for the A allele of rs1979572 for migraine with aura (MA) especially in women as well as a significant lower prevalence for MA for carrier of the A allele of rs2066713 in women. These findings support previous results suggesting that the 5-HTT gene is involved in the polygenic etiology of MA. These data further suggest that women are more likely to be clinically affected by mutations in the 5-HTT gene than men.