Synchronous primary malignant neoplasms of colon and bladder.

Extracolonic and synchronous malignancies are rare in colorectal carcinomas. We report a 68-year-old man with complaints of rectal bleeding and hematuria. Endoscopic biopsies revealed synchronous adenocarcinoma of the colon and transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. The patient was started on chemotherapy, and is alive (with disease) nine months later.

Gluten-free diet improves iron-deficiency anaemia in patients with coeliac disease.

Two cases of newly-diagnosed asymptomatic coeliac disease with 3 years of unexplained severe iron-deficiency anaemia are presented. Oral iron supplementation had no effect on their serum iron levels and, therefore, had no influence on their anaemia. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy confirmed normal macroscopic findings. Duodenal biopsies revealed subtotal villous atrophy of the mucosa of the small intestine. A strict gluten-free diet led to an increase in serum iron, resolution of anaemia, and restitution of normal mucosal morphology. Thus, severe iron-deficiency anaemia associated with asymptomatic coeliac disease is responsible to gluten-free diet.

Idiopathic hypoparathyroidism and celiac disease in two patients with previous history of cataract.

We report two patients with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism and celiac disease. Both had undergone surgery for cataract previously. The patients presented with tetany in the absence of gastrointestinal complaints. Investigations showed severe hypocalcemia, hypoparathyroidism, flattening of duodenal villi histologically, and diffuse cerebral and basal ganglia calcifications on CT scan. After a gluten-free diet with calcium supplementation, the clinical situation and biochemical values improved.