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Mayo Clinic Laboratory and Pathology Research Roundup: Oct. 31

By Kelley Luedke • October 31, 2016

The Research Roundup provides an overview of the past week’s research from Mayo Medical Laboratories consultants, including featured abstracts and complete list of published studies and reviews.

Featured Abstracts

Natural History of Wild-Type Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis and Risk Stratification Using a Novel Staging System

amyloidWild-type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTRwt) is increasingly recognized as an important cause of heart failure. Mayo Clinic researchers conducted a study to determine the natural history of ATTRwt and the predictors of survival. Multivariate predictors of mortality included age, ejection fraction, pericardial effusion, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, and troponin T. A staging system was developed that used thresholds of troponin T and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. The natural history of ATTRwt is poor. We report a novel cardiac biomarker staging system that enables risk stratification in an era of emerging treatment strategies.The respective 4-year overall survival estimates were 57%, 42%, and 18% for stage I (both values below cutoff), stage II (one above), and stage III (both above), respectively. Stage III patients were at an increased risk of mortality after adjustment for age and sex compared with stage I. Based on the results, the natural history of ATTRwt is poor. Researchers reported a novel cardiac biomarker staging system that enables risk stratification in an era of emerging treatment strategies. The paper was published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology.

Quantitation of Albumin in Urine by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

MassSpec2-960x540Urinary excretion of human serum albumin (HSA), a 6.65 kDa monomeric protein, is a sensitive marker of renal damage associated with many diseases including diabetes mellitus. Albumin is synthesized by the liver and functions as a transport protein for fat-soluble hormones and drugs and for maintaining plasma colloid osmotic pressure and pH. Albumin is not filtered at the glomerulus and its presence in the urine at concentration above 30 mg/day is suggestive of glomerular damage. Early diagnosis of microalbuminuria has prognostic value for monitoring disease progression and early clinical management of diabetic nephropathy in prediabetic patients. Current methods for quantitation of urine albumin are based on immunoassays or size exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV detection (SEC-HPLC-UV). Studies have demonstrated discordance between the existing methods. It has been suggested that while immunoassays underestimate albumin in urine, SEC-HPLC-UV method overestimates albumin as it cannot separate co-eluting interferences. Mayo Clinic researchers describe a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry LC-MS/MS candidate reference method for albumin quantitation. The study was published in Methods in Molecular Biology. 

Published to PubMed This Week

Kelley Luedke

Kelley Luedke

Kelley Luedke is a Marketing Channel Manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories. She is the principle editor and writer of Insights and leads social media and direct marketing strategy. Kelley has worked at Mayo Clinic since 2013. Outside of work, you can find Kelley running, traveling, playing with her kitty, and exploring new foods.

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