Posted: October 7, 2022
Chicago, IL, August 15-18, 2022 David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) The recent THSNA 2022 meeting that was held in Chicago, IL from August 15-18, 2022, was a welcome event, as attendees for the first time in a couple of years could attend the conference in person or virtually. Finally, attendees had the ability to…
Posted: September 26, 2022
– Contributed by Abi Kasberg, PhD Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a rare and severe complication of adenoviral-based COVID-19 vaccinations. VITT occurs at a rate of 1:100,000 to 1:1,000,000 and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Long term complications of VITT and VITT antibodies can persist for more than 9 months and has…
Posted: August 31, 2022
-Contributed by Abi Kasberg, PhD Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) is a rare, inherited, autosomal dominant disorder that is characterized by fluid accumulation and tissue swelling that can be painful and potentially life-threatening. This form of angioedema is driven by vasculature leakage into surrounding tissues including in the hands, feet, lips, genitals, gastrointestinal tract, or airway. Normal…
Posted: June 28, 2022
INTRODUCTION In a previous CLOT CLUB blog post I discussed how chromogenic factor X assays (CFX) were more accurate and less likely to be influenced in certain instances than using the prothrombin time/international ratio assay (PT/INR)1. The PT/INR may be falsely elevated in the presence of lupus anticoagulants (LA), direct thrombin inhibitors (DTI), and dysfibrinogenemia. …
Posted: May 5, 2022
-Contributed by Abi Kasberg, PhD The immune checkpoint is a vital regulatory component that prevents the immune system from targeting healthy cells or developing autoimmunity. It does so via immunoreceptors that suppress T cell activity in mechanisms that protect normal, healthy cells from destruction. However, prolonged expression of immune checkpoint proteins can lead to T…