Noreen Gilman asks:

>>I need to get a copper stain on ffpe tissue. Does anyone know what 
reference lab does this? This is a request from the clinician and we feel 
obligated to fulfill his request.<<

What's "ffpe tissue"? - Be careful of abbreviations on Histonet - they 
frequently baffle people! Folks on Histonet are from all over the world, and 
do many different kinds of histology. (I did catch "TIA" - not "Transient 
Ischemic Attack" I suppose!)

If this is liver tissue from a patient being worked up for Wilson's disease 
or another disorder of copper metabolism, then you need to get a quantitative 
copper determination done on the paraffin block, not a stain. The only 
reference lab I know of that offers this test is Mayo Medical Laboratories. 
They offer tests for tissue levels of several metals, mostly commonly iron, 
also aluminum.

Bob Richmond
Samurai Pathologist
Knoxville TN