application of fluorescence spectroscopy in the amyloidosis diagnosis: a preliminary report

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness offluorescence spectroscopy studies in the diagnosis of secondaryAA amyloidosis. Histopathological, immunohistochemical andfluorescence spectroscopy evaluations of abdominal fat tissuespecimens of 12 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) andsecondary amyloidosis were performed. The control groupcomprised 8 RA patients with clinical suspicion of amyloidosis,unconfirmed in histopathological examination. In 9 cases, theanalysis of autofluorescence spectra showed differences betweenthe slices containing amyloid deposits and healthy tissue.A characteristic feature of tissue slices with amyloidosis wasthe appearance of a second maximum in the fluorescencespectrum chart. In 3 cases, the shape of the fluorescence spectradid not enable an unequivocal differential diagnosis. Thehistopathological tissue examination remains the gold standard inthe diagnosis of amyloidosis. Preliminary results indicate that thefluorescence spectrum analysis can be a diagnosis supportmethod, but to assess its usefulness the group of patients needsto be increased.