Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine

Case Study

Drug-induced phospholipidosis of the kidney suspected to be caused by atomoxetine: Sung-Eun Choi, Kee Hyuck Kim, Minsun Jung, Jeong Hae Kie; J Pathol Transl Med. 2026;60(1):124-128. Published online January 14, 2026; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2025.12.10

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Drug-induced phospholipidosis (DIP) is characterized by intracellular accumulation of phospholipids with lamellar body formation secondary to drug-altered lipid metabolism, which can trigger inflammation and histopathological changes. Fabry disease and DIP both exhibit zebra bodies on electron microscopy, complicating differential diagnosis. A 17-year-old male with microscopic hematuria and proteinuria had received atomoxetine (40 mg) for 11 months to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Light microscopy showed one glomerulus with perihilar sclerosis and periglomerular fibrosis. Kidney biopsy revealed zebra bodies in podocytes, initially suggesting Fabry disease. However, α-galactosidase A enzyme activity was normal on tandem mass spectrometry. Next-generation sequencing of GLA identified only three benign variants. This represents the first reported case of atomoxetine-induced DIP. When zebra bodies are observed, clinicians should consider DIP caused by cationic amphiphilic drugs alongside Fabry disease. Atomoxetine meets the structural criteria for inducing DIP, and awareness of this potential complication is essential.

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Atomoxetine

Reactions Weekly.2026; 2095(1): 19. CrossRef
Acute Interstitial Nephritis, Acute Tubular Injury, and Drug-Induced Phospholipidosis Associated with Combined KRAS G12C and RAF/MEK Inhibition in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Jose Arriola-Montenegro, Poemlarp Mekraksakit, Sam T. Albadri, Maria L. Gonzalez Suarez
Kidney International Case Reports.2026; : 100018. CrossRef

Case Reports

Leiomyoma of the Ovary A report of two cases.: Jeong Hae Kie, Tai Seung Kim, Dong Hwan Shin; Korean J Pathol. 1999;33(7):529-532.

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Abstract PDF: Ovarian leiomyoma is a rare form of the ovarian mesenchymal neoplasm and about 50 cases have been reported in the literature. It is believed that many cases may go unnoticed because they are usually small in size and frequently mistaken for the more common fibroma or fibrothecoma. Its origin is still controversial and many possibilities are considered including the smooth muscle in the blood vessel wall of the hilum or the multipotential ovarian stromal cell. Herein we describe two cases of ovarian leiomyoma with its characteristic histologic finding.

Ureteral Washing Cytology of Localized Ureteral Amyloidosis: A Case Report.: Won Ae Lee, Jeong Hae Kie, Yoon Mi Jeen, Mi Kyung Lee; J Pathol Transl Med. 2002;13(1):38-41.

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Abstract PDF: Localized amyloidosis of the ureter is rare and clinically confused with neoplasm. We describe a case of localized amyloidosis of the ureter in which the presence of amyloid was detected in ureteral washing cytology. A 75-year-old female presented with gross hematuria. Abdominal CT and retrograde pyelography revealed hydronephrosis and hydroureter on the left side with abrupt narrowing of the distal ureter. Ureteral washing cytology yielded a hypocellular smear with many irregular clumps of amorphous, extracellar, waxy material. Biopsy sections demonstrated submucosal deposits of eosinophilic amorphous material which gave characteristic apple green birefringence with Congo-red stain under the polarized light. Familarity with the cytologic features of amyloid is helpful for preoperative diagnosis and proper treatment.

Williams Syndrome in an Infant An autopsy case report .: Jeong Hae Kie, Se Hoon Kim, Jae Young Choi, Sang Ho Cho; Korean J Pathol. 1999;33(11):1090-1093.

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Abstract PDF: Williams syndrome is a congenital disorder characterized by mental retardation, loquacious personalities, dysmorphic face, and vascular and valvular abnormalities. The etiology of this syndrome was one allelic loss of elastin gene, exhibiting a submicroscopic deletion, at 7q11.23. Sudden death is an infrequently recognized complication. The mechanism of sudden death is explained by myocardial ischemia, decreased cardiac output, and arrhythmia by anatomical abnormality of coronary artery stenosis and severe biventricular outflow tract obstruction. We report an autopsy case of a 80 day-old male with Williams syndrome. Five days before admission, cardiac murmur was detected incidentally on ascultation at a local clinic during a visit for vaccination. He was transferred to our hospital and cardiac catheterization was done. He died suddenly next day. Postmortem examination revealed a dysmorphic face and multiple cardiovascular abnormalities including supravalvular aortic stenosis with narrowed coronary artery ostia, supravalvular pulmonic stenosis, secundum type of atrial septal defect, right ventricular hypertrophy, and renal artery stenosis. Histologically, aorta and pulmonary, bronchial, and renal arteries showed markedly hyperplastic medial elastic laminae approximately three times thick compared to those of age-matched normal artery. The elastic fibers of the innermost two thirds of media were disposed in a normal orderly parallel fashion. In outer third of the media, the elastic fibers had lost the normal orderly arrangement.

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