Diagnosis of crystal-associated disease: where do we stand?

“There may also be overemphasis on the need for polarized light. Crystals can be seen with regular light and often have characteristic shapes.” There is a fascinating report by Hernandez-Santana et al. in this issue introducing studies on a fluorescent dye to identify calcium crystals [1]. This was clearly identified by the authors as motivated by concerns about dependence on, and accuracy of, the standard polarized light diagnosis of crystal presence. The authors focus on concern about flaws in the polarized light method, but concerns can go well beyond that. The reasons microscopic diagnosis and polarized light have been emphasized...