Usefulness of aliasing phenomenon for diagnosing venous valve stenosis of arteriovenous fistula in a hemodialysis patient.

We present venous valve stenosis, which is an uncommon cause of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) dysfunction. Owing to the thin structure in echography, venous valves are challenging to observe; however, we have found that the aliasing phenomenon is useful for diagnosing venous valve stenosis.

A Case of Cholestatic Liver Involvement Secondary to Amyloid Light Chain Amyloidosis With New-Onset Hypercholesterolemia and Elevated Gamma-Glutamyltransferase Level.

Amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis is a rare disorder caused by the deposit of misfolded light chain proteins. AL amyloidosis causes multiple organ involvement and rarely causes fatal liver failure. We present a 68-year-old man who showed cholestatic liver injury and was diagnosed with AL amyloidosis. Due to rapidly progressing cholestatic liver involvement, the patient died five days after the renal biopsy. Preclinically, there was hypercholesterolemia, and levels of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) were elevated. Previous studies have suggested hypercholesterolemia and elevated GGT levels in patients with AL amyloidosis and liver involvement; however, its clinical relevance remains unknown. Our report suggests that in addition to serum kappa/lambda, the combination of new-onset GGT level elevation and hypercholesterolemia could be preclinical characteristics of cholestatic liver involvement in AL amyloidosis.