PATH - General Flashcards
Granulomatous diseases
Th1 cells secrete IFN-γ, activating macrophages.
TNF-α from macrophages induces and maintains granuloma formation.
Always test for *latent TB
before starting anti-TNF therapy
Associated with hypercalcemia due to calcitriol (1,25-[OH]2 vitamin D3) production.
Caseating necrosis more common with infectious causes (eg, TB)
Diagnosing sarcoidosis requires noncaseating granulomas on biopsy
Causes: too many to list p 226 *Fungal: endemic mycoses (eg, histoplasmosis) *Sarcoidosis *Crohn disease *Mycobacteria (tuberculosis, leprosy)
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
Products of inflammation (eg, fibrinogen) coat RBCs and cause aggregation
The denser RBC aggregates fall at a faster rate within a pipette tube.
Often co-tested with CRP levels.
INC ESR
- Most anemias
- Infections
- Inflammation (eg, giant cell [temporal] arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica)
- Cancer (eg, metastases, multiple myeloma)
- Renal disease (end-stage or nephrotic syndrome)
- Pregnancy
DEC ESR
- Sickle cell anemia (altered shape)
- Polycythemia (INC RBCs “dilute” aggregation factors)
- HF
- Microcytosis
- Hypofibrinogenemia
Lipofuscin
A yellow-brown “wear and tear” pigment associated with *normal aging.
Formed by oxidation and polymerization of autophagocytosed organellar membranes.
Autopsy of elderly person will reveal deposits in heart, colon, liver, kidney, eye, and other organs
Psammoma bodies
Laminated, concentric spherules with dystrophic calcification
PSaMMoma bodies are seen in: -Papillary carcinoma of thyroid -Serous papillary cystadenocarcinoma of ovary -Meningioma -Malignant mesothelioma Serum
Cachexia
Weight loss, muscle atrophy, and fatigue that occur in chronic disease (eg, cancer, AIDS, heart failure, COPD).
**Mediated by TNF, IFN-γ, IL-1, and IL-6.
