title: A patient with Werner's syndrome and erythroleukemia: just coincidence?
abstract: Werner's syndrome is a rare clinical entity and approximately 150 cases have been reported in the medical literature. Werner's syndrome, inherited by autosomal recessive transmission, is characterized primarily by a short stature, premature greying and balding, trophic ulceration of the legs, diabetes mellitus and hypogonadism. These features combine to present a picture of adult progeria. In this brief report we describe a 51-year-old Bedouin male with Werner's syndrome, diagnosed as erythroleukemia (AML-6), and presenting as acute pancytopenia. The patient died two months after diagnosis. This is a rare case of erythroleukemia in a patient with Werner's syndrome. We survey current knowledge of the cytogenetic pathogenesis of Werner's syndrome and erythroleukemia, and attempt to explain the possible link between these two rare syndromes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine "B", Soroka Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bartal
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yerushalmi
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zilberman
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yermiyahu
mesh_terms: D018912:Arabs; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D003241:Consanguinity; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D009386:Neoplastic Syndromes, Hereditary / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D014898:Werner Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology