If amyloidosis damages your kidneys, it can cause protein to leak from your blood into your urine. This may cause your urine to be foamy, or you may urinate less. When large amounts of protein leave your bloodstream and enter your urine, water can leak out of the blood vessels into your feet. This can cause your feet, ankles and calves to swell.
Unintentional, significant weight loss. If you're losing protein from your blood, you may lose your appetite and, as a result, lose weight without trying. If amyloidosis affects your digestive system, it can also affect your ability to digest your food and absorb nutrients. It's common to lose 20 to 25 pounds. Severe fatigue. Feeling extremely tired is common with amyloidosis. Even small efforts may feel difficult.
Shortness of breath. If amyloidosis affects your heart, it can limit your heart's ability to fill with blood between heartbeats. This means less blood is pumped with each beat, which may cause you to feel short of breath.
Amyloidosis that affects the lungs also can cause shortness of breath. You may find it difficult to climb a flight of stairs or walk long distances without stopping to rest. You may also feel short of breath with even the slightest activity. Numbness, tingling, weakness or pain in your hands or feet.
If amyloid proteins collect in and put pressure on the nerves to your fingers, you may have pain and other symptoms in your wrists carpal tunnel syndrome. In AL amyloidosis, the light chain proteins are misshapen and there are too many of them.
These are deposited in tissues and can damage one or more organs. The heart, kidneys, nerves, and gastrointestinal system are the most common organs affected. Because AL amyloidosis is associated with the overproduction of plasma cell proteins, it is linked to multiple myeloma. AA amyloidosis. AA amyloidosis is associated with some chronic diseases, such as diabetes, tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. It may also be linked to aging. AA amyloidosis can affect the spleen, liver, kidneys, adrenal glands, and lymph nodes.
Lymph nodes are tiny, bean-shaped organs that fight infection. Hereditary or familial amyloidosis. Hereditary amyloidosis is rare. It can be passed from generation to generation within a family. The proteins produced in hereditary amyloidosis may cause problems with the heart and may cause carpal tunnel syndrome and eye abnormalities.
The most common subtypes involve a protein called transthyretin TTR. This is sometimes called ATTR amyloidosis. Unlike some other types of amyloidosis, AL amyloidosis is not inherited, so a person with the condition cannot pass it on to their children. But there are treatments to stop more of the abnormal proteins being produced and treat your symptoms. These treatments can give your body time to gradually clear the deposits before they build up again. This can help prevent organ damage.
In most cases, the treatment will involve having chemotherapy. Chemotherapy damages abnormal bone marrow cells and stops them producing the abnormal proteins that form amyloid deposits. Steroids are usually given together with chemotherapy to boost the effect of the chemotherapy drugs. They may also lessen your chances of having a bad reaction to chemotherapy. Your doctor may also discuss using other treatments, such as a stem cell transplant.
You may also need special medicine if you have heart failure or kidney failure. Your doctors and nurses will need to carefully control the amount of salt you have and how much you drink. You may also need dialysis if you have end-stage kidney failure. Some people with kidney failure may be suitable for a kidney transplant.
But the underlying problem with your bone marrow will still need to be treated using chemotherapy as this will prevent a build-up of amyloid in the new kidney. After chemotherapy, you'll need regular check-ups every 6 to 12 months to look for signs of the AL amyloidosis returning. If it does return, you may need to start chemotherapy again. A small tissue sample a biopsy can be taken from the affected part of your body.
Elsevier; Accessed Oct. Hoffman R, et al. Immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis primary amyloidosis. In: Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. Merck Manual Professional Version. Ferri FF. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Gorevic PD. Overview of amyloidosis.
Cardiac amyloidosis. Mayo Clinic; Fontana M, et al. Myocardial amyloidosis: The exemplar interstitial disease. Renal amyloidosis.
0コメント