Case report: desmoplakin cardiomyopathy presenting as an inflammatory cardiomyopathy with repeated sudden cardiac arrests.

Background: Desmoplakin cardiomyopathy has been recently classified as a non-dilated left ventricular cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by inflammatory-like episodes followed by left ventricular fibrosis/dysfunction and ventricular arrhythmias. Specific management is unclear. Case summary: We report a detailed case of a 46-year-old Caucasian woman presenting with repeated sudden cardiac arrests who was diagnosed with a new variant in the desmoplakin gene. Because the initial 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan showed significant hypermetabolism, she was treated with immunosuppressors, with only minimal improvement on imaging. Discussion: Desmoplakin cardiomyopathy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory cardiomyopathies. Little is known about the use of immunosuppressive treatments, but it could be reasonable for some selected patients.

[Allergic asthma in adults: diagnosis and clinical management]. / Asthme allergique de l'adulte: prise en charge.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in Switzerland. Its prevalence is between 7% and 10% in Western countries and almost half of all asthma patients are sensitized to one or more allergens. It is important to identify this particular group of allergic patients in order to be able to propose a targeted treatment. Due to recent scientific advances, allergologists have gained novel tests to precisely diagnose sensitizations to allergens as well as new treatment options beside allergen avoidance, bronchodilators, topical steroids and desensitization. Here, we summarize the current diagnostic and treatment guidelines for the general practitioner.