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Arkana Vandal

Article
Our on-call board has been vandalized.  Dr. Larsen can "neither confirm nor deny any allegations," but we have our suspicions...    
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Fungus Microabscess

Article
Cortical microabscess formation is a clue to the presence of an infectious organism.  Various bacteria, viruses, fungi, and even parasites may cause similar appearing lesions.  This biopsy is taken from a renal transplant patient with acute kidney injury and microscopic hematuria.  The low-power image shows a densely mixed cellular infiltrate involving the tubulointerstitium (Fig. 1).  Higher magnification shows tubulitis with intratubular leukocytes and rare structures suspicious for fungal elements (Fig. 2).  Gomori methenamine silver staining confirms the presence of budding yeast forms (Fig. 3 arrow) with hyphae and pseudohyphae.  Fungal isolates from urine culture showed colony morphology characteristics consistent with...
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Arkana Physician Spotlight: Dr. Silva

Article
Dr. Fred Silva joined Arkana Laboratories in 2011 following 12 years of service as the Executive Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology. During that time, he also served as Adjunct Professor of Pathology at Emory University in Atlanta, as well as Visiting Clinical Professor at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. Dr. Silva received his BS and MD from the University of Oklahoma. He trained at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City where he also served as Assistant Professor in Surgical and Renal Pathology. In 1980, he...
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DNAJB9 helps uncover dual pathology…

Article
This case illustrates the utility of immunohistochemical staining for DNAJB9, a recently described biomarker for fibrillary glomerulopathy (see reference).  The renal biopsy is taken from a 68-year-old man with a history of cirrhosis (cause unknown) who presents with mild microscopic hematuria, non-nephrotic range proteinuria, and chronic renal failure.  Glomeruli show diffuse mild mesangial matrix expansion.  Immunofluorescence shows granular mesangial IgA (2+) and smudgy mesangial and capillary wall IgG (2+) staining.  Electron microscopy (not shown) shows both immune complex-type and fibrillary deposits involving glomerular capillary basement membranes and mesangium.  Immunohistochemical staining for DNAJB9 shows mesangial staining.  Although IgA immunofluorescence staining may...
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Not Quite Nodular

Article
This biopsy came from a 70-year-old gentleman with acute renal failure. He had a known history of diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease.  His baseline serum creatinine is between 1.7 mg/dl and 1.9 mg/dl and was found to be elevated up to 2.9 mg/dl. Proteinuria was quantified as 0.2 g/g on urine protein to creatinine ratio.  Urinalysis showed trace blood and protein.  While processing the clinical information, one has to admit that this clinical presentation is not an unusual one.  A fair number of patients will have a decline in renal function that reflects the reality of an already struggling...
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Membranous Glomerulopathy in Obesity-Related Glomerulopathy

Article
The patient is a 57-year-old female, with a history of morbid obesity and persistent mild proteinuria (approximately 1 gm), who now presents with nephrotic syndrome and a UPCR of 10.5 g/g. Renal function is normal with a serum creatinine of 0.5 mg/dl. The biopsy shows marked glomerulomegaly with focal areas of perihilar segmental glomerulosclerosis (Fig 1 and 2). Additionally, the capillary loops appear mildly thickened, with frequent subepithelial fuchsinophilic deposits on trichrome stain and diffuse and global holes and spikes seen on silver stain (Fig 3). Immunofluorescence shows global capillary loop granular staining for IgG, C3, kappa, and lambda (Fig...
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Twitter Poll (September 6, 2018)

Article
ANSWER: A - Thick ascending limb of the loops of the Henle THP (aka uromodulin) is an 85 -kDa glycoprotein encoded by the UMOD gene in humans.  It’s involved in the pathogenesis of light chain cast nephropathy, urolithiasis, and tubulointerstitial nephritis, in urothelial cytoprotection against UTIs, and in mutations of the THP gene in FJHN and MCKD2. References: Micanovic R, et al. Tamm-Horsfall Protein Regulates Granulopoiesis and Systemic Neutrophil Homeostasis. J Am Soc Nephrol 2015; 26(9): 2172-2182. Serafini-Cessi F, et al. Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein: biology and clinical relevance. Am J Kidney Dis 2003; 42: 658-676. Nasr SH, et al. Uromodulin storage...
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Pushing Glass (September 7, 2017)

Article
The patient is a 75-year-old female who presents with proteinuria and a creatinine of 2.50. She has chronic lymphocytic leukemia, hypertension, and multiple sclerosis. What is the best diagnosis? A. Type I Cryoglobulinemia B. Type II Cryoglobulinemia C. Hepatitis C associated MPGN D. C3 Glomerulonephritis   The best answer is A (type 1 cryoglobulinemia). The biopsy shows a membranoproliferative pattern with IgG lambda restriction. The presence of hyaline thrombi is concerning for cryoglobulinemia. Cryoglobulins are immunoglobulins that precipitate in the cold and dissolve on warming and induce disease via vascular injury and blockage. Three types of cryoglobulins are distinguished based...
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Organizational Health

Article
We are so excited to be working with Tim Jackson and Organizational Health in an effort to continuously serve with our mission and goals top of mind.
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Arkana
Announcement

Posted September 4th 2018
Your patients can now pay their bill online.
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