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Don’t fight AL amyloidosis alone.
Find your community on the free RareGuru App.AL amyloidosisis the most common form of amyloidosis, a group of disorders in which an abnormal protein called amyloid builds up in tissues and organs. The signs and symptoms of AL amyloidosis vary among patients because the build up may occur in the tongue, intestines, muscles, joints, nerves, skin, ligaments, heart, liver, spleen, or kidneys. To diagnose AL amyloidosis, healthcare professionals use blood or urine tests to identify signs of amyloid protein and a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. Treatment may include chemotherapy directed at the abnormal plasma cells, stem cell transplantation, or other treatments based on which symptoms have developed.
Source: GARD Last updated on 05-01-20
AL amyloidosis is frequently associated with chromosome anomalies. The anomalies that have been described in association with amyloidosis are numberous and varied. As a result, no single chromosome anomaly is characteristic for this condition.
One study did find an extra chromosome X (trisomy X) in 13% of women and 54% of men with systemic amyloidosis in their study population. We were not able to find a study which investigated the prevalence of chromosome 16 anomalies. One of the more common chromosome anomalies associated with systemic amyloidosis is a loss of a copy of chromosome 18 (i.e., chromosome 18 monosomy). In one study this anomaly was identifed in 72% of participants.
Last updated on 05-01-20
The exact cause of AL amyloidosis is not known. The condition appears to occur in similar frequencies among people of various races. It is thought to occur more commonly in men than in women. AL amyloidosis is a disease of adulthood. The mean age of people at diagnosis of AL amyloidosis is 65 years. The condition results from an abnormality of plasma cells in the bone marrow. It is closely related to multiple myeloma.
You can visit the following link to the National Cancer Institute's Web site
to learn more about risk factors for multiple myeloma.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/myeloma/page3
Last updated on 05-01-20
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