ABSTRACT
Amyloidosis is a low-frequency disease that can cause compromise of different systems. We report a case of heart failure in an 81-year-old woman secondary to amyloidosis, in which the echocardiogram was a valuable diagnostic tool.
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Aged, 80 and over , Pericardial Effusion/diagnosis , Pericardial Effusion/therapy , Amyloidosis , Radiography, Thoracic , Immunoglobulin Light Chains , Echocardiography, Transesophageal , Clinical Laboratory Techniques , Electrocardiography , Computed Tomography Angiography , Heart Failure/etiologyABSTRACT
Background: The discovery of the phospholipase A2 receptor antigen and its highly specific autoantibody (anti-PLA2R Ab) was useful for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with membranous nephropathy (MN). Thus, some international guidelines recommend not performing renal biopsy in patients with positive serum anti-PLA2R Ab. Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of anti-PLA2R Ab in serum and renal tissue samples from Chilean patients with primary MN. Material and Methods: Twenty-eight patients aged 50 ± 14 years (20 males) with biopsy-proven primary MN plus a negative workup for secondary causes were included. Measurements of serum and renal histologic anti-PLA2R Ab were performed. The relationship between the findings of serum and tissue anti-PLA2R Ab was evaluated. Results: Fifteen patients (54 %) had anti-PLA2R Ab presence in serum and 19 patients (68%) had positive anti-PLA2R Ab in the renal biopsy. All patients with positive serum anti-PLA2R Ab had positive antibodies on immunohistochemistry. Conclusions: Serum anti-PLA2R Ab is potentially useful in the diagnosis of patients with suspected primary MN in Chilean population.