MCL

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Julia Lehman, M.D., discusses serologic testing for Celiac Disease in patients with IgA deficiency.

Controlled substance testing options vary in the details they provide about patient drug use, painting an incomplete picture of usage patterns that can hinder accurate prescription monitoring and treatment outcomes. However, a new comprehensive Controlled Substance Monitoring Panel, developed by the Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, offers in-depth analysis on more than 70 different prescription medications and illicit substances to provide clinicians with details and interpretations on patients’ controlled substance use lacking in other laboratory assays.

Puanani Hopson, D.O., a Mayo Clinic pediatric gastroenterologist, explains the pancreatic elastase test — a screening test that can be useful when symptoms point to the possibility of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. Dr. Hopson reviews when this test should be ordered, how it compares to other test options, and how its results can guide further evaluation.

With the rise of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology, multigene panel testing is expanding so rapidly that clinical practice is racing to keep pace. And questions within genetic tests have expanded along with it, making definitive answers more challenging to come by. Experts in the Genomics Laboratory in Mayo Clinic's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology work to explain this often misunderstood technology.

Dendritic cells play a crucial role in the body's immune response. Research has shown that too few of these cells in the blood may signal a defect in innate immunity. Up to this point, however, no clinical test has been available to count dendritic cells.

Practical aspects and pitfalls in the molecular diagnosis of brain tumors.

William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, joins the "Answers From the Lab" podcast for his weekly leadership update. In this episode, Dr. Morice and Bobbi Pritt, M.D., look back at how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped laboratory medicine throughout 2020.

Due to the holiday season, Mayo Clinic Laboratories' specimen pickup and delivery schedules will be altered. To ensure that your specimen vitality and turnaround times are not affected, please plan ahead.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” John Mills, Ph.D., explains the central role of tissue immunofluorescence in the identification of neural antibodies and discusses the benefits of an integrated laboratory approach to the development and validation of novel antibody biomarkers.

A massive effort that involved numerous departments and experts, culminated in Mayo Clinic designing, testing and mass-manufacturing a 3D-printed mid-turbinate swab for COVID-19 testing.

Anja Roden, M.D., a medical director for Mayo Clinic's Immunohistochemistry Laboratory, joins this episode of the "Answers From the Lab" podcast. Dr. Roden and Bobbi Pritt, M.D., discuss the development and evaluation of immunohistochemistry in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues.

Joshua Bornhorst, Ph.D., associate director of Mayo Clinic's Clinical Immunoassay Lab, explains how humans can develop an allergy to the alpha-gal molecule, and he describes a new allergen antibody test that can be used to detect it. Dr. Bornhorst also reviews other tests that should be used in conjunction with alpha-gal testing to accurately identify the scope and underlying cause of the allergy.

In October 2020, Mayo Clinic Laboratories announced two new tests along with numerous reference value changes, obsolete tests, and algorithm changes.