ABSTRACT
Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) has different etiological causes, and not all of them are well understood. In atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), the TMA is caused by the complement dysregulation associated with pathogenic mutations in complement components and its regulators. Here, we describe a pediatric patient with aHUS in whom the relatively benign course of the disease confused the initial diagnosis. A previously healthy 8-year-old boy developed jaundice, hematuria, hemolytic anemia, thrombopenia, and mild acute kidney injury (AKI) in the context of a diarrhea without hypertension nor oliguria. Spontaneous and complete recovery was observed from the third day of admission. Persistent low C3 plasma levels after recovery raised the suspicion for aHUS, which prompted clinicians to discard the initial diagnosis of Shigatoxin-associated HUS (STEC-HUS). A thorough genetic and molecular study of the complement revealed the presence of an isolated novel pathogenic C3 mutation. The relatively benign clinical course of the disease as well as the finding of a de novo pathogenic C3 mutation are remarkable aspects of this case. The data are discussed to illustrate the benefits of identifying the TMA etiological factor and the relevant contribution of the MCP aHUS risk polymorphism to the disease severity.
Subject(s)
Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome/genetics , Complement C3/genetics , Membrane Cofactor Protein/genetics , Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome/diagnosis , Child , Humans , Male , Mutation , Pedigree , Polymorphism, Single NucleotideABSTRACT
The possibility of a patient with familial ATTR amyloidosis receiving a liver from an asymptomatic variant TTR carrier is remote [corrected].However, in 2008, it was reported that this unlikely event occurred in a patient in Portugal. We report our protocol for early diagnosis and management of this entity.
Subject(s)
Amyloidosis, Familial/diagnosis , Liver Transplantation , Prealbumin/genetics , Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial/diagnosis , Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial/etiology , Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial/genetics , Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial/therapy , Amyloidosis, Familial/etiology , Amyloidosis, Familial/genetics , Amyloidosis, Familial/therapy , Early Diagnosis , Humans , Liver/metabolism , Mutation , Prealbumin/metabolismABSTRACT
We report the case of a female patient with familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) who demonstrated TTR amyloid deposition in the inferior nasal conchal vessels. To our knowledge this location has not been described previously in FAP; in addition, it was detected in a patient who had undergone successful liver transplantation (LTX) 4 years earlier. The amyloid deposition was found incidentally during examination of a right nasal obstruction caused by a nonspecific inflammatory polyp. Small focal deposits of amyloid TTR were observed on deep thick walled vessels, contrasting with the massive deposition reported in neoformed vessels in amyloidomas. This amyloid was clearly deposited between the onset of FAP and LTX and had probably decreased since the graft. If amyloid deposition is frequent in inferior nasal concha in FAP, this location could be a suitable biopsy site.
