Diagnostic Challenges in Thrombotic Microangiopathies

The Alexion Satellite Symposium provided an introduction to thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA) by Prof Dirk Kuypers, who described atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS) as a rare but severe disease that causes TMA and can result in organ failure. Prof Josep Campistol presented two patient cases to illustrate the need to make a differential diagnosis between aHUS, thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura (TTP), and Shiga toxin-related-HUS (STEC-HUS). Prof Christophe Legendre then described aHUS clinical management, introduced eculizumab as the only approved treatment for aHUS, and provided an overview of the efficacy and safety data from recent clinical trials.