Catamenial pneumothorax due to solitary localization of diaphragmatic endometriosis.

INTRODUCTION: Catamenial pneumothorax (CP) is a spontaneous recurrent pneumothorax occurring in women in reproductive age. The etiology of CP has been associated with thoracic endometriosis and is its most common presentation. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A case of right catamenial pneumothorax in a 38 year old woman is presented in which three episodes of CP occurred within 72h of menses in a 6 month period. The patient underwent videothoracoscopy that revealed a solitary localization of diaphragmatic endometriosis. After surgical pleurodesis and based on final pathology of resected lesion, hormonal treatment was started. The outcome was uneventful and the patients is symptom-free at 6 months. DISCUSSION: Catamenial pneumothorax (CP) is a rare clinical entity characterized by lung collapse during menstruation, believed to be secondary to pleural endometriosis. Nearly all catamenial pneumothorax occur on the right side as pleural lesions are almost exclusively right-sided. Diagnostic imaging is based on high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and, preferably, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) since it is able to detect the blood products in the endometrial deposits. However the lack of macroscopic findings at surgery makes this condition still under-diagnosed. Based on the solitary diaphragmatic localization of endometriosis in our case we preferred to limit surgery to videothoracoscopic pleurodesis and start hormonal treatment with successful outcome. CONCLUSION: Catamenial pneumothorax is the most common presentation of thoracic endometriosis syndrome and should always be suspected in women in childbearing age. Treatment option are still debated but best results are achieved by videothoracoscopic pleurodesis combined with hormonal therapy.

Partial rescue of Rett syndrome by ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) oil.

Evidence of enhanced oxidative stress (O.S.) and lipid peroxidation has been reported in patients with Rett syndrome (RTT), a relatively rare neurodevelopmental disorder progressing in 4-stages, and mainly caused by loss-of-function mutations in the methyl-CpG-binding protein 2. No effective therapy for preventing or arresting the neurologic regression in the disease in its various clinical presentations is available. Based on our prior evidence of enhanced O.S. and lipid peroxidation in RTT patients, herein we tested the possible therapeutic effects of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs), known antioxidants with multiple effects, on the clinical symptoms and O.S. biomarkers in the earliest stage of RTT. A total of 20 patients in stage I were randomized (n = 10 subjects per arm) to either oral supplementation with ω-3 PUFAs-containing fish oil (DHA: 72.9 ± 8.1 mg/kg b.w./day; EPA: 117.1 ± 13.1 mg/kg b.w./day; total ω-3 PUFAs: 246.0 ± 27.5 mg/kg b.w./day) for 6 months or no treatment. Primary outcomes were potential changes in clinical symptoms, with secondary outcomes including variations for five O.S. markers in plasma and/or erythrocytes (nonprotein bound iron, F(2)-dihomo-isoprostanes, F(3)-isoprostanes, F(4)-neuroprostanes, and F(2)-isoprostanes). A significant reduction in the clinical severity (in particular, motor-related signs, nonverbal communication deficits, and breathing abnormalities) together with a significant decrease in all the examined O.S. markers was observed in the ω-3 PUFAs supplemented patients, whereas no significant changes were evidenced in the untreated group. For the first time, these findings strongly suggest that a dietary intervention in this genetic disease at an early stage of its natural history can lead to a partial clinical and biochemical rescue.