Insights

Blood lab test results

Rise in Basal Serum Tryptase Levels: Possible Differentials for SM

“Increased basal serum tryptase level is an important diagnostic parameter and clinical biomarker in mast cell disorders,” Michael Arock, PharmD, PhD, wrote in Revue Francaise d’Allergologie, of which systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a subtype. Although an increased basal serum tryptase level is an important signpost to the possibility of SM, it can also point to…

Medical knowledge

Assessing the Gray Areas in Our Understanding of ATTR-CM

Despite the wealth of information we now possess regarding transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), certain gray areas remain, as touched on by Porcari and colleagues in Frontiers in Medicine.  ATTR-CM is driven by the abnormal deposition of misfolded and/or cleaved transthyretin protein throughout the body and may be hereditary in nature or acquired. Diagnosing ATTR-CM has…

Woman looking in mirror upset

Understanding the Impact of Generalized Pustular Psoriasis on Quality of Life

Dermatological diseases such as generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) often result in considerable distress among patients due to their outward visibility. Such dermatological diseases burden the patient in two ways: the disease itself, which needs treating, and self-perception and self-esteem issues that can result in considerable psychiatric pathology.  There is a dichotomy in medicine when it…

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