Case Report: Diagnosis of Dual-Biopsy Negative Severe Cardiac Amyloidosis

INTRODUCTION Amyloidosis is a rare disorder that involves the deposition of misfolded protein in extracellular tissue. Disease manifestations vary depending on the affected organs. Areas most often involved include the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, heart, nervous system, and musculoskeletal system. The most common type is AL amyloidosis, in which plasma cells produce an abundance of a monoclonal proteins that affect numerous organ systems. A second variety, AA amyloidosis, is associated with inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Finally, a heritable version of amyloidosis mediated by mutations in the transthyretin protein (TTR) has a predilection for deposition in peripheral nerves and cardiac tissue1

Identification and Management of Cobalt Toxicity: A Case Report of Rapidly Progressing Toxicity after Hip Arthroplasty Revision

INTRODUCTION Patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty represent a growing portion of the population. More than 330,000 hip replacements are performed annually1, and more than 2.5 million Americans are living with a hip prosthesis2. Many hardware configurations utilize metal alloys for the femoral head and/or acetabulum. Although their use is decreasing due to safety concerns, cobalt-chromium femoral heads were still used in 51% of total hip arthroplasties in 20143. There is rising concern about the adverse effects of metal ions released from these joint replacements. However, little published evidence is available supporting specific interventions for the management of cobalt toxicity. Given the increasing incidence and prevalence of total hip arthroplasty in the United States, patients with total hip replacements will become more commonplace in the internist’s practice. With the risk of adverse effects related to these prostheses, it is important to be familiar with the presentation of cobalt toxicity in order to spare patients from excessive or irreversible damage

Large, long range tensile forces drive convergence during

Indirect evidence suggests that blastopore closure during gastrulation of anamniotes, including amphibians such as Xenopus laevis, depends on circumblastoporal convergence forces generated by the marginal zone (MZ), but direct evidence is lacking. We show that explanted MZs generate tensile convergence forces up to 1.5 mN during gastrulation and over 4 mN thereafter. These forces are generated by convergent thickening (CT) until the midgastrula and increasingly by convergent extension (CE) thereafter. Explants from ventralized embryos, which lack tissues expressing CE but close their blastopores, produce up to 2 mN of tensile force, showing that CT alone generates forces sufficient to close the blastopore. Uniaxial tensile stress relaxation assays show stiffening of mesodermal and ectodermal tissues around the onset of neurulation, potentially enhancing long-range transmission of convergence forces. These results illuminate the mechanobiology of early vertebrate morphogenic mechanisms, aid interpretation of phenotypes, and give insight into the evolution of blastopore closure mechanisms. © Shook et al

Obstacles and Challenges to Implementing Multi-departmental QI at a Large, Academic Training Center-Lessons Learned from a HCV Screening Program

Objectives: We aimed to double the HCV screening rate of ‘baby-boomers’ admitted to the medicine teaching service at Methodist Hospital over the course of 6 months and demonstrate improved linkage to care for HCV RNA+ individuals. Initial efforts were a collaboration between Emergency Medicine, where faculty had experience implementing an HIV screening program, and Gastroenterology, a key stakeholder in linkage to care. Our pilot period coincided with new state regulations mandating that hospitals implement HCV screening for inpatients. These new regulations dramatically altered the scope and goals of the project.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/patientsafetyposters/1030/thumbnail.jp