Performing and Processing FNA of Anterior Fat Pad for Amyloid

Historically, heart, liver, and kidney biopsies were performed to demonstrate amyloid deposits in amyloidosis. Since the clinical presentation of this disease is so variable and non-specific, the associated risks of these biopsies are too great for the diagnostic yield. Other sites that have a lower biopsy risk, such as skin or gingival, are also relatively invasive and expensive. In addition, these biopsies may not always have sufficient amyloid deposits to establish a diagnosis. Fat pad aspiration has demonstrated good clinical correlation with low cost and minimal morbidity. However, there are no standardized protocols for performing this procedure or processing the aspirated specimen, which leads to variable and nonreproducible results. The most frequently utilized modality for detecting amyloid in tissue is an apple-green birefringence on Congo red stained sections using a polarizing microscope. This technique requires cell block preparation of aspirated material. Unfortunately, patients presenting in early stage of amyloidosis have minimal amounts of amyloid which greatly reduces the sensitivity of Congo red stained cell block sections of fat pad aspirates. Therefore, ultrastructural evaluation of fat pad aspirates by electron microscopy should be utilized, given its increased sensitivity for amyloid detection. This article demonstrates a simple and reproducible procedure for performing anterior fat pad aspiration for the detection of amyloid utilizing both Congo red staining of cell block sections and electron microscopy for ultrastructural identification

Evaluation of Disease Activity in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Diagnostic Tools in the Assessment of Histological Healing

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comprises two types of chronic intestinal disorders: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. In long-standing ulcerative colitis disease activity, histological persistent inflammation has been linked to an increased risk of relapse, and long-term corticosteroid use, even when endoscopic remission is reached. In Crohn’s disease, the discontinuous nature of lesions and transmural inflammation have limited the standardized histological assessment. The current evidence from research proposes that besides clinical and endoscopic healing, the achievement of histological healing constitutes an endpoint to assess disease activity and remission in IBD patients concerning better long-term disease outcomes. Histological alterations may persist even in the absence of endoscopic lesions. For these reasons, new advanced techniques promise to revolutionize the field of IBD by improving the endoscopic and histologic assessment, disease characterization, and ultimately patient care, with an established role in daily practice for objective assessment of lesions. This review outlines the importance of including microscopic evaluation in IBD, highlighting the clinical benefits of a deep state of disease remission using validated diagnostic methods and scoring systems for daily clinical practice

Endovascular procedures for the treatment of autonomic dysfunction

Dysautonomias are a heterogeneous group of disorders with pathologic changes confined to the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system or both, depending on the underlying condition [1–3]. Autonomic dysfunction, including postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy and autonomic neuropathies are major public health problems with a large unmet clinical need [4, 5]. However, advances in therapies that have an immediate impact on quality of life and outcomes in patients with autonomic disorders have been limited

Long-term effect of thymectomy plus prednisone versus prednisone alone in patients with non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis: 2-year extension of the MGTX randomised trial

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Background: The Thymectomy Trial in Non-Thymomatous Myasthenia Gravis Patients Receiving Prednisone (MGTX) showed that thymectomy combined with prednisone was superior to prednisone alone in improving clinical status as measured by the Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (QMG) score in patients with generalised non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis at 3 years. We investigated the long-term effects of thymectomy up to 5 years on clinical status, medication requirements, and adverse events. Methods: We did a rater-blinded 2-year extension study at 36 centres in 15 countries for all patients who completed the randomised controlled MGTX and were willing to participate. MGTX patients were aged 18 to 65 years at enrolment, had generalised non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis of less than 5 years\u27 duration, had acetylcholine receptor antibody titres of 1·00 nmol/L or higher (or concentrations of 0·50–0·99 nmol/L if diagnosis was confirmed by positive edrophonium or abnormal repetitive nerve stimulation, or abnormal single fibre electromyography), had Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America Clinical Classification Class II–IV disease, and were on optimal anticholinesterase therapy with or without oral corticosteroids. In MGTX, patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to either thymectomy plus prednisone or prednisone alone. All patients in both groups received oral prednisone at doses titrated up to 100 mg on alternate days until they achieved minimal manifestation status. The primary endpoints of the extension phase were the time-weighted means of the QMG score and alternate-day prednisone dose from month 0 to month 60. Analyses were by intention to treat. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00294658. It is closed to new participants, with follow-up completed. Findings: Of the 111 patients who completed the 3-year MGTX, 68 (61%) entered the extension study between Sept 1, 2009, and Aug 26, 2015 (33 in the prednisone alone group and 35 in the prednisone plus thymectomy group). 50 (74%) patients completed the 60-month assessment, 24 in the prednisone alone group and 26 in the prednisone plus thymectomy group. At 5 years, patients in the thymectomy plus prednisone group had significantly lower time-weighted mean QMG scores (5·47 [SD 3·87] vs 9·34 [5·08]; p=0·0007) and mean alternate-day prednisone doses (24 mg [SD 21] vs 48 mg [29]; p=0·0002) than did those in the prednisone alone group. 14 (42%) of 33 patients in the prednisone group, and 12 (34%) of 35 in the thymectomy plus prednisone group, had at least one adverse event by month 60. No treatment-related deaths were reported during the extension phase. Interpretation: At 5 years, thymectomy plus prednisone continues to confer benefits in patients with generalised non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis compared with prednisone alone. Although caution is appropriate when generalising our findings because of the small sample size of our study, they nevertheless provide further support for the benefits of thymectomy in patients with generalised non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis. Funding: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke