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Periodic Fever, Aphthous Stomatitis, Pharyngitis and Cervical Adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is the most common autoinflammatory disorder among children in many parts of the world and an important differential diagnosis in children presenting with recurrent fever episodes. Commonly, PFAPA has an onset under the age of 5 years. Fever episodes in PFAPA usually last 3-6 days and are associated with one or more of the cardinal symptoms aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis. The fever episodes typically recur with an interval of 3-6 weeks, often with a striking regularity. During the episodes, the patient has elevated inflammatory variables such as CRP and serum amyloid A (SAA) and may sometimes have additional symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea and leg pain. Between the fever episodes, the patient is typically free of symptoms with normalized inflammatory variables and grows normally. Awareness and recognition of PFAPA is key to providing the patient with adequate treatment and avoiding misdiagnosis.

Familial Mediterranean fever - an important disease in a globalised world Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is characterized by recurrent febrile attacks during 1/2-3 days associated with peritonitis, pleuritis and arthritis. FMF is the most common monogenic autoinflammatory disease in the world, with over 100 000 affected individuals. It is particularly common in individuals with an origin in the eastern Mediterranean Basin, where the disease has a prevalence of 100-200 per 100 000. The gene for FMF (MEFV) was identified in 1997 with an autosomal recessive inheritance; however, a significant proportion (≈25%) of clinical patients lack two mutations. MEFV codes for the protein pyrin, whose exact function still needs to be defined. The most serious complication of FMF is amyloid A amyloidosis, in particular renal amyloidosis. FMF is efficiently treated with daily doses of colchicine resulting in an almost normal life expectancy and amyloidosis confined to non-compliant patients. In today's globalized world we need to adapt to a new context that includes inherited conditions, which have historically been uncommon in our part of the world. One of these conditions is FMF, that should primarily be suspected in individuals with an origin in the eastern Mediterranean Basin and recurrent attacks of fever.

Genetic and environmental risk factors are central concerns in dementia research. Through twin studies one can study the relative importance of genetic and environmental risk factors. One such study, based on the Swedish Twin Registry, shows that genetic effects are of considerable importance for developing Alzheimer's disease, even late in life, but that environmental factors are also important. For vascular dementia, the results indicate that non-genetic factors are of primary importance.