Primary cardiac lymphoma with central nervous system relapse.

Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL), a rare disease, often presents with symptoms resembling other cardiac diseases. The correct diagnosis is crucial, as cardiac lymphoma can be cured with immuno-chemotherapy. PCL has a high risk of central nervous system recurrence (CNS); therefore, screening for CNS involvement and even prophylaxis may be necessary.

[A woman with a growing skull]. / Een vrouw met een groeiend hoofd.

In a 79-year-old female, a markedly elevated alkaline phosphatase level was found by chance. She had noticed her hats had become too small. Clinical examination revealed a large skull with frontal bossing. Bone scintigraphy showed increased activity of bone metabolism in the skull. These three findings combined are considered a classic example of Paget's disease.

[Underlying causes of diabetes mellitus]. / Onderliggende oorzaken van diabetes mellitus.

In patients with hyperglycaemia plus obesity and cardiovascular disease, the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus is likely to be made and this is usually followed by the start of antihyperglycaemic therapy. This pragmatic approach, however, does not always turn out to be the correct one. We describe two patients with occult conditions that had caused or aggravated diabetes mellitus (DM): a 46-year-old man with acromegaly and a 41-year-old woman with Cushing's disease. After neurosurgeries were performed, the requirement for antihyperglycaemic treatment markedly decreased (case 2) or even disappeared (case 1). Physicians treating patients with DM should ask themselves what the cause of the disease could be; the recognition and treatment of that underlying condition may substantially decrease the amount of insulin required and may even cause the disappearance of DM altogether.

[Benign ethnic neutropenia; an unrecognised cause of leukopenia in negroid patients]. / Benigne etnische neutropenie: een onbekende oorzaak van leukopenie bij negroïde patiënten.

Leukopenia has a high incidence and is usually a reason for additional testing. Benign ethnic neutropenia is a relatively common cause of neutropenia in the negroid population. It can be the cause of aberrant laboratory results in negroid patients. A 55-year-old woman from Ghana was referred to the outpatient clinic because of malaise, leukopenia and neutropenia. Viral infection, haematological malignancy, auto-immune disease and vitamin deficiency were considered, but could not be confirmed by additional testing. Upon further investigation, the neutropenia in this patient was found to have existed for years. Moreover, our patient's son also had asymptomatic leukopenia. Therefore, benign ethnic neutropenia was considered the most likely diagnosis. Serological analysis of the patient's erythrocytes revealed the absence of Duffy (Fy) blood group antigens Fy(a) and Fy(b), which is associated with benign ethnic neutropenia.