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Uhl’s disease is a rare disorder secondary to the uncontrolled destruction of right ventricular myocytes during the perinatal period. We present here the case of a 1-month-old child who died suddenly of Uhl’s disease, which was only diagnosed at autopsy and histological examination. From an anamnestic point of view, the child’s sister had also died at about 1 month of age from the same pathology. In both cases, genetic tests showed a heterozygous mutation in the KCNH2 gene. The case that we presented is particularly significant as very few familial cases of Uhl disease have been described in the literature, and genetic analyses have been conducted in very few cases. It is possible that the observed mutation played a role in the onset of the disease process. However, further scientific studies with larger case series are needed to confirm our results.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is highly contagious. The persistence of the virus after infected individuals die remains unclear. This article reports the findings taken from postmortem nasopharyngeal swabs performed to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the corpses transferred to the Genoa District Mortuary from the outset of the Italian lockdown (March 9) to the end of the first emergency phase (July 13). One hundred and eighty swabs were carried out: 13 corpses resulted positive for the virus, with the diagnosis being reached only after death. Seven were male and 6 female with an average age of 73.5 years old. The most frequent comorbidities recorded were arterial hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and pulmonary disease. In two cases, the swab tested positive at a distance of 125 h and 165 h from actual death. The nasopharyngeal swab results a useful way to screen corpses for COVID-19 and to handle bodies in Legal Medicine Centers where safe autoptic rooms are not available. Swabs are also a means of safeguarding forensic pathologists, identifying the presence of breeding grounds in the community and providing information for the Public Prosecutor's Office in legal cases. They are able to produce reliable results up to at least 7 days following death, provided that the corpse is correctly preserved.

Functional neurological disorders can have different clinical manifestations, including coma, in the setting of an unknown etiology. In this article, we present a case of a young man affected by intellectual disabilities who, after a physical assault reported serious neurological alterations and a functional coma. This case shows how a stressful psychophysical event can bring acute and variable neurological manifestations of functional significance to a victim with previous intellectual disabilities. Despite the growing interest in this field, research is still very limited and studies in this field could better explain the nature of the psychogenic coma. From a medico-legal point of view, problems of evaluation may emerge for these disorders emerge as a result of acute psycho-physical stress and without any detectable structural alterations.