Neurology

Divyanshu (Div) Dubey, M.B.B.S., explains how Mayo Clinic Labs’ new Kelch-11 antibody test — the first in the world — can confirm diagnosis, guide treatment, and improve outcomes in patients affected by testicular cancer-associated paraneoplastic encephalitis.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories has launched a first-in-the-U.S. autoimmune test of the Kelchlike protein 11 antibody, or KLHL11, which is used to detect autoimmune disease associated with testicular cancer.

Top highlights include: which insurance companies cover the new Alzheimer's drug, advice on how to talk to someone who is hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine, employers requiring you to be vaccinated, FDA approval Alzheimer drug, MN COVID-19 numbers heading in the right direction, having "brain frog" and blaming the pandemic.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Andrew McKeon, M.B., B.Ch., M.D., reviews the use of neurological phenotype-based evaluations, the move away from the paraneoplastic evaluation, and upcoming changes to test profiles.

Andrew McKeon, M.B., B.Ch., M.D., discusses updates that are being made to Mayo Clinic Laboratories' autoimmune profile that will remove some antibodies from those profiles. He describes the rationale behind the updates, reviews which antibodies are involved, and explains how the changes will streamline testing and enhance test interpretation.

Based on studies that have shown certain antibodies may not be as clinically relevant to autoimmune testing as previously thought, Mayo Clinic Laboratories is updating a number of its autoimmune profiles by removing some antibodies from them.

Christopher Klein, M.D., discusses Mayo Clinic’s updated myasthenia gravis and Lambert-Eaton syndrome testing approach. Automatic reflex to second-line testing saves time and increases sensitivity and specificity to confirm diagnosis in patients with atypical presentation.

Thank you to our staff at Mayo Clinic who step up daily during this time of need to provide access to testing during the global pandemic. We appreciate each one of you and all the sacrifices you personally have made throughout this past year.

Andrew McKeon, M,B., B.Ch., M.D., provides an overview of Mayo Clinic Laboratories' new paraneoplastic vision loss evaluation — a test that can help direct a cancer diagnosis and guide treatment. He reviews why this test was developed, when it should be ordered, and how the results can affect patient care.

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.

Dr. Bornhorst explains orexin testing's role in diagnosing type 1 narcolepsy and the significance of the test's availability through Mayo Clinic Laboratories.

A new episode of "Discussions with the Directors" is available on the topic of paraneoplastic testing - when is it appropriate and what is the way ahead. Listen Now!

This "Specialty Testing" webinar will discuss Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which has been used in research on Alzheimer's disease for decades. Only recently, have platforms been developed to standardize measurements across laboratories.