Renal

Patients with elevated LDL or "bad" cholesterol face even greater risk if their levels of small dense LDL cholesterol are also high. Vlad Vasile, M.D., Ph.D., and Leslie Donato, Ph.D., explain how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' sdLDL-c assay measures concentrations of the small dense LDL subtype, to better guide clinical care.

John Lieske, M.D., explains why it's now easier for clinicians to pull information from Mayo Clinic Laboratories' supersaturation test report. An updated format summarizes complex information to help guide the treatment of kidney stones.

In this month's "Hot Topic," David Murray, M.D., Ph.D., reviews the role of urine testing for monoclonal gammopathies and discusses Mayo Clinic’s use of MASS-FIX to replace traditional immunofixation testing.

Since March 2019, Paul Jannetto, Ph.D., director of the Metals Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, along with his colleagues across the enterprise and his laboratory staff, have developed, validated, and implemented an artificial intelligence (AI)-augmented test with algorithms designed to interpret kidney stone FTIR spectra. With more than 90,000 kidney stones analyzed each year at Mayo Clinic, this new AI-assisted test has streamlined lab processes and improved patient care.

In this “Hot Topic,” Paul Jannetto, Ph.D., highlights Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ AI-augmented kidney stone test and discusses the proper procedures for collecting and processing kidney stones to provide accurate, cost-effective analysis of patients’ kidney stones in a timely manner.

Linnea M. Baudhuin, Ph.D., and Emily K. Thoreson, M.S., CGC, explain how Mayo Clinic Laboratories renal genetics testing provides comprehensive, accurate and actionable results. Identifying a genetic cause helps guide the complex decisions involved with treating kidney disease.

John Lieske, M.D., describes Mayo Clinic Laboratories' new test for primary membranous nephropathy. PMND1 is a diagnostic cascade that provides a cost-effective approach to detecting antigens known to cause membranous nephropathy — a condition that can lead to kidney failure.

John Lieske, M.D., discusses Mayo Clinic Laboratories' urinary ammonium testing. A test that takes the guesswork out of determining acid base disorders by giving nephrologists a true understanding of a patient’s true urinary ammonium level.

Sanjeev Sethi, M.D., Ph.D., discusses how Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ new immunohistochemistry test for the detection of NELL-1 antigen, a biomarker for membranous nephropathy found in 10% to 15% of patients, provides diagnostic certainty and insight on disease expression.

Part II of this series shows how a breakthrough discovery about how kidney stones form may open the way for new, unorthodox treatments. The discovery was made possible by joining University of Illinois’ geology and biology forces with Mayo Clinic’s urology and nephrology expertise.

A collaborative study between Mayo Clinic and the University of Illinois debunked the previous consensus about how kidney stones grow.

This "Pathways" program provides Anatomic and Clinical Pathology cases that include a history, potential answers, rationale, and relevant references. Cases for May include the following sub-specialties: Bone and Soft Tissue & Infectious Disease, Gynecological, Placental, and Renal.