Stories

New diagnostic tests specifically for conditions that predominantly or only affect women, such as autoimmune diseases and gynecological cancers, are empowering female patients and their physicians to make informed decisions.

JoAnne Michael’s symptoms started with dizziness and forgetfulness before down spiraling into severe confusion, crying jags, and brain seizures. ER doctors at her local hospital initially thought she was on drugs. JoAnne, terrified, wondered if she was dying. Luckily, she had a guardian angel by her side: her mother, a retired nurse practitioner, who took her to Mayo Clinic, where the clinical experience and expertise of neurologist Andrew McKeon, M.B., B.Ch., M.D., helped give her a diagnosis and hope for a journey back to health.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories has developed a cutting-edge suite of Alzheimer's disease testing. The newest assays use blood samples, avoiding the need for lumbar punctures to obtain cerebrospinal fluid. The testing suite exemplifies Mayo Clinic Laboratories' innovative business approach. As a platform company, Mayo Clinic is creating a diagnostics ecosystem to meet a wide range of testing needs and help physicians order the right tests for their patients.

When Samantha Duke discovered she had breast cancer, she didn’t have to look far for support. Her mother Jane walked a similar path 16 years earlier. Inspired both by her mom and the strong network of healthcare physicians and professionals on her team, Samantha remained positive throughout her treatment and is committed to advancing research on breast cancer.

Aiming to advance understanding of hard-to-predict gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), Thermo Fisher Scientific joined forces with Mayo Clinic and BioPharma Diagnostics to validate and gain U.S. regulatory clearance of a novel, automated assay aimed at detecting a biomarker associated with the progressive disease.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories has introduced a revolutionary diagnostic test for bile acid malabsorption, a significant contributor to chronic diarrhea. Developed by Dr. Michael Camilleri and Dr. Leslie Donato, this new bile acid malabsorption panel simplifies diagnosis and improves patient care by eliminating the need for special diets or prolonged stool collection. The test's effectiveness has been validated internationally, offering new treatment avenues for patients. Discover how this innovative test is transforming clinical practice and enhancing patient outcomes.

Rehab Elkadri joined Mayo Clinic Laboratories in December 2021, relocating from the United Kingdom to the United Arab Emirates. As an international clinical specialty liaison in the Neurology division for the Middle East and North Africa region, Rehab collaborates with healthcare professionals to promote our advanced diagnostic tests, ensuring providers have precise tools for patient treatment. She values transparency, building trust by advising on cost-effective services. Despite challenges in navigating regional systems, her dedication to patient care and advancing neurology diagnostics drives her work, making a global impact and fulfilling her professional purpose.

Looking to elevate laboratory operations, Yuma Regional’s hospital directors established a leadership model that pairs medical and administrative leaders, resulting in a changed perception of the laboratory’s ability to drive profitability and a $40 million capital investment in laboratory infrastructure.

In a quiet suburb outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, an ordinary Saturday took a sudden and alarming turn for Scott Olson when he began experiencing symptoms of ventricular tachycardia. Central to the care and treatment he'd receive at Mayo Clinic was the precise testing that was done by Mayo's Cardiac Pathology Lab, which uncovered the true cause of his erratic heart rhythm. That discovery not only clarified Scott's diagnosis, but also highlighted the critical role that advanced diagnostics plays in guiding successful patient outcomes.

As a clinical specialty representative, Ona Saras’ decade-long dedication to patient care and advocacy for cutting-edge testing at Mayo Clinic Laboratories has transformed lives across Northern California and Reno, Nevada. Through personal experiences and professional insights, Ona shares her commitment to prioritizing patient needs and empowering providers with timely and accurate diagnoses.

Central nervous system infections, such as meningitis and encephalitis, can be devastating for affected patients. While specific treatments are available for some of these infections, it first requires identifying the precise cause of infection. To meet that need, Mayo Clinic Laboratories has developed a metagenomics assay that can identify more than 1,000 pathogenic organisms in cerebrospinal fluid. The innovative assay, which uses an approach known as shotgun metagenomic sequencing, is one of the only such tests currently available.

This week's research roundup feature: Monoclonal immunoglobulin (MIg) crystalline nephropathies are rare lesions resulting from precipitation of MIgs in the kidney as crystalline inclusions. They can be categorized into lesions with predominant intracellular crystals (light chain [LC] proximal tubulopathy, LC crystal-storing histiocytosis, LC crystalline podocytopathy] and lesions with predominant extracellular crystals (crystalglobulin-induced nephropathy, crystalline variant of LC cast nephropathy).

This week's research roundup feature: Despite advances in understanding the genetic abnormalities in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and the development of JAK2 inhibitors, there is an urgent need to devise new treatment strategies, particularly for triple negative myelofibrosis (MF) patients who lack mutations in the JAK2 kinase pathway and have very poor clinical outcomes.