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99mTc-HMDP scintigraphy rectifies wrong diagnosis of AL amyloidosis

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Journal of Nuclear Cardiology Aims and scope

Abstract

A 71-year-old African man without history of cardiac disease was referred to our center for dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiogram and cardiac MRI were suggestive of cardiac amyloidosis (CA). The diagnosis of the light-chain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA) was made after a first endomyocardial biopsy. Accordingly chemotherapy was started. Systematic 99mTc-HMDP scintigraphy showed moderate cardiac uptake (visual score of 2), unusual for AL-CA, and permitted to rectify the diagnosis. Hereditary transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis was confirmed by a second endomyocardial biopsy with a positive Congo-red and anti-transthyretin antibody stainings, mass spectrometry and genetic analysis (Val122Ile mutation).

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the physicians involved in the Amyloidosis Network of the Henri Mondor Hospital who participated in the assessment and care of the patients included in this study.

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The authors have indicated that they have no financial conflict of interest.

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Correspondence to Axel Van Der Gucht MD.

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Arnault Galat and Axel Van Der Gucht have contributed equally to this work.

All authors have approved the manuscript, and agree with its submission to the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology. The procedure followed was in accordance with the ethical standard guidelines of the responsible committee on human experimentation.

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Galat, A., Van Der Gucht, A., Colombat, M. et al. 99mTc-HMDP scintigraphy rectifies wrong diagnosis of AL amyloidosis. J. Nucl. Cardiol. 22, 853–857 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-015-0176-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-015-0176-6

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