title: Fluorescence microscopy is superior to polarized microscopy for detecting amyloid deposits in Congo red-stained trephine bone marrow biopsy specimens.
abstract: The classic gold standard for detecting amyloid deposits is Congo red-stained bright field and polarized microscopy (CRPM). A prior study showed that Congo red fluorescence (CRF) microscopy had increased sensitivity compared with traditional CRPM when analyzing fat pad specimens. The purpose of the current study was to determine the sensitivity of CRF for evaluating Congo red-stained bone marrow biopsy specimens, and to compare these results with those of CRPM. We compared the CRPM and the CRF analyses of 33 trephine bone marrow biopsy specimens with clinical or morphologic suspicion of amyloid deposits. These results were verified against immunohistochemical staining with anti-amyloid P antibody. CRF achieved 100% sensitivity, and CRPM achieved 75% sensitivity. Both groups showed 100% specificity compared with amyloid P immunohistochemical staining. The results show that CRF is a sensitive method to analyze trephine bone marrow biopsy specimens for amyloid deposits.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, One Robert Wood Johnson Pl, MEB 212, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0019, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.forename: Evita
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sadimin
authors.forename: Maurice
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Lauri
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Goodell
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fyfe
mesh_terms: D000682:Amyloid / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001706:Biopsy; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D003224:Congo Red / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D008859:Microscopy, Polarization / Q000379:methods*; D014207:Trephining
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D004396:Coloring Agents; D003224:Congo Red