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Archive: January 2019

Renal Oxalosis

Article
A 25-year-old female presents to the hospital with malaise and a creatinine of 3.5. She reports that she was in her normal state of health until about 2 weeks ago when she had the “flu.” The patient has minimal proteinuria and bland urine sediment. A kidney biopsy was obtained. Figure 1 shows a normal glomerulus. Figure 2 shows severe chronicity. Figure 3 and 4 show polyhedral clear crystals within the tubular lumina. Figure 5 shows an increased number of oxalate crystals under polarized light. Renal oxalosis is characterized by excess deposition of calcium oxalate crystals within the kidney. There are...
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Diagnose This (January 28, 2019)

Article
What is your diagnosis?         ​ ​   ​   ​ ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​ ​   ​ ​   ​ ​   ​ ​     ​   ​   ​...
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Twitter Poll (January 23, 2019)

Article
ANSWER: A Although glomerular disease in patients with CLL/SLL is less common, the most frequent patterns of glomerular injury seen include MPGN (immune complex mediated), MCD, membranous GN, and monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition disease. The most common form of kidney involvement in patients with CLL/SLL is the presence of direct infiltration of the kidney parenchyma by leukemic cells. Although glomerular disease in patients with CLL/SLL is less common, they can be present.  The glomerular pattern of injury frequently seen in these group of patients include membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (immune complex mediated), minimal change disease, membranous nephropathy, and monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition disease (nonamyloid...
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Minimal Change Disease

Article
A 70-year-old female presents with nephrotic range proteinuria. She had been in her regular state of health until 2 weeks ago when she noticed swelling in her ankles and that her shoes no longer fit. She went to her family practitioner who sent her to a cardiologist to rule out congestive heart failure. Her troponin levels were normal and her creatinine on routine examination was 7.5 mg/dL. She was admitted to the hospital and an emergent kidney biopsy was requested. Figure 1 shows a normal glomerulus. Figure 2 shows no significant interstitial fibrosis. Figure 3 shows severe arteriosclerosis. Figure 4...
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Client Spotlight: Joanna Birkitt

Article
This month we’d like to spotlight Joanna Birkitt at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Our team contacted Joanna late on a Friday about a transplant patient who was in the process of having a kidney biopsy. The patient’s nephrologist was worried about possible rejection and needed a result the following day. It was the end of Joanna’s shift and the late biopsy would miss the FedEx pickup without her help. Joanna could have gone home, could have chosen not to intervene, but instead, did what was best for the patient. She saw to it that the biopsy made it to FedEx, which...
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Diagnose This (January 21, 2019)

Article
A limited sample showed this lesion and negative staining on paraffin-retrieved IF tissue. What is your diagnosis?     ​ ​   ​   ​ ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​   ​ ​   ​ ​   ​...
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Twitter Poll (January 16, 2019)

Article
ANSWER: B The target of the circulating ABBA autoantibodies is LDL receptor-related protein 2 (LRP2) also known as “Megalin”. ABBA is a rare autoimmune disease associated with acute kidney injury and tubulointerstitial damage.  Histologically, IgG–positive immune deposits are found in tubular basement membranes by immunofluorescence (IF).  When indirect IF is done using patient’s serum and normal kidney controls, there is reaction of the autoantibodies with the proximal tubular brush borders. REFERENCE: Larsen CP, et al. LDL-Receptor Related Protein 2 (Megalin) as a Target Antigen in Human Kidney Anti-Brush Border Antibody Disease. J Am Soc Nephrol, 2018; 29:644-653    
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Art of Medicine: Membranous Glomerulopathy

Article
The painting above depicts membranous glomerulopathy.   A single glomerular capillary loop with confluent subepithelial and intramembranous electron dense deposits along the glomerular basement membrane is shown.  Podocytes are showing foot process effacement and microvillous transformation, which results in loss of the filtration barrier leading to nephrotic syndrome.  An electron micrograph from a patient with membranous glomerulopathy is shown below. Membranous glomerulopathy is the second most common cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults.  A majority of cases are considered primary with autoantibodies directed against the podocyte antigens phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R, ~70% of cases) or thrombospondin type 1 domain containing 7A...
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Digging Deeper – Here, There, and Everywhere

Article
This biopsy came from an elderly gentleman in his 80s, who presented with acute renal failure.  His serum creatinine had increased from a baseline of 1.3 mg/dL up to 6.6 mg/dL.  And in addition to that, urinalysis was positive for proteinuria and blood.  His medical history included pulmonary embolism, BPH, gastrointestinal hemorrhage and GERD.  Multiple serologies were ordered upon presentation, and among these, pANCA and MPO were markedly positive.  A biopsy was performed to investigate the possibility of an ANCA-mediated crescentic glomerulonephritis. Unfortunately, the material obtained for biopsy was small in size, and the longest core, submitted to light microscopy,...
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Arkana
Announcement

Posted May 28th 2019
Your patients can now pay their bill online. 
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