Objective:To discuss the implementation of technical advances in laboratory diagnosis and monitoring of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria for validation of high-sensitivity flow cytometry protocols.Methods:A retrospective study based on analysis of laboratory data from 745 patient samples submitted to flow cytometry for diagnosis and/or monitoring of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.Results:Implementation of technical advances reduced test costs and improved flow cytometry resolution for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria clone detection.Conclusion:High-sensitivity flow cytometry allowed more sensitive determination of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria clone type and size, particularly in samples with small clones.

The history of muscle biopsy dates back to 1860, when Duchenne first performed a biopsy on a patient with symptoms of myopathy (1) . Since then, the basic and clinical science of muscle and muscle disease has gone through three stages of development: the classical period, the modern stage and the molecular era.