Amyloidosis

Exam Cram

• Pathophysiology: amyloid plaques caused by excess protein

• Types:

  • • AL: B plasma cell's producing excess antibodies that form amyloid plaques

    • AA: associated with chronic inflammation, e.g. Rheumatoid Arthritis 

• Presentations

  • • Nephrotic disease

    • Cardiac disease

Associations 

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

• Build of amyloid-beta proteins in walls of small arteris in brain

• Protein weakens vessel walls, leading to rupture

Alzheimer's disease

• Alzheimer's is associated with the build up of beta amyloid proteins

Plasma Cell Dyscrasia

• Amyloidosis AL is a plasma cell dyscrasia (cancer of B cell that produces antibodies)

• Myleoma is also a cancer of the antibody producing plasma cell characterised by different effects of a different protein on the body, 10% of myeloma patients develop AL amyloidosis

Page written in 2024.