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Amyloidosis
Amyloidosis is a group of diseases in which abnormal proteins, known as amyloid fibrils, build up in tissue. There are several non-specific and vague signs and symptoms associated with amyloidosis. These include fatigue, peripheral edema, weight loss, shortness of breath, palpitations, and feeling faint with standing. In AL amyloidosis, specific indicators can include enlargement of the tongue and periorbital purpura. In wild-type ATTR amyloidosis, non-cardiac symptoms include: bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbar spinal stenosis, biceps tendon rupture, small fiber neuropathy, and autonomic dysfunction. There are about 36 different types of amyloidosis, each due to a specific protein misfolding. Within these 36 proteins, 19 are grouped into localized forms, 14 are grouped as systemic forms, and 3 proteins can identify as either. These proteins can become irregular due to genetic effects, as well as through acquired environmental factors. The four most common types of s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proteopathy
In medicine, proteinopathy (; 'pref''. protein -pathy 'suff''. disease proteinopathies ''pl''.; proteinopathic ''adj''), or proteopathy, protein conformational disorder, or protein misfolding disease refers to a class of diseases in which certain proteins become structurally abnormal, and thereby disrupt the function of cells, tissues and organs of the body. Often the proteins fail to fold into their normal configuration; in this misfolded state, the proteins can become toxic in some way (a toxic gain-of-function) or they can lose their normal function. The proteinopathies include such diseases as Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and other prion diseases, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyloidosis, multiple system atrophy, and a wide range of other disorders. The term ''proteopathy'' was first proposed in 2000 by Lary Walker and Harry LeVine. The concept of proteopathy can trace its origins to the mid-19th century, when, in 1854, Rudolf Virchow coined the term amyloi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AA Amyloidosis
AA amyloidosis is a form of amyloidosis, a disease characterized by the abnormal deposition of fibers of insoluble protein in the extracellular space of various tissues and organs. In AA amyloidosis, the deposited protein is serum amyloid A protein (SAA), an acute-phase protein which is normally soluble and whose plasma concentration is highest during inflammation. Causes AA amyloidosis is a complication of a number of inflammatory diseases and infections, although only a small portion of patients with these conditions will go on to develop AA amyloidosis. The most common presentation of AA amyloidosis is renal in nature, including proteinuria, nephrotic syndrome and progressive development of chronic kidney disease leading to end stage kidney disease (ESKD) and need for renal replacement therapy (e.g. dialysis or kidney transplantation). A natural history study of AA amyloidosis patients reported a number of conditions associated with AA amyloidosis: * Autoimmune diseases ** ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of 7–13 nm in diameter, a beta sheet (β-sheet) secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human body, amyloids have been linked to the development of various diseases. Pathogenic amyloids form when previously healthy proteins lose their normal structure and physiological functions ( misfolding) and form fibrous deposits in amyloid plaques around cells which can disrupt the healthy function of tissues and organs. Such amyloids have been associated with (but not necessarily as the cause of) more than 50 human diseases, known as amyloidosis, and may play a role in some neurodegenerative diseases. Some of these diseases are mainly sporadic and only a few cases are familial. Others are only familial. Some are iatrogenic as they result from medical treatment. Prions are an infectious form of amyloids that can act as a template to conve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AL Amyloidosis
Amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, also known as primary amyloidosis, is the most common form of systemic amyloidosis in the US. The disease is caused when a person's antibody-producing cells do not function properly and produce abnormal protein fibers made of components of antibodies called light chains. These light chains come together to form amyloid deposits which can cause serious damage to different organs. Abnormal light chains in urine are sometimes referred to as "Bence Jones protein". Signs and symptoms AL amyloidosis can affect a wide range of organs, and consequently present with a range of symptoms. The kidneys are the most commonly affected organ in AL amyloidosis. Symptoms of kidney disease and kidney failure can include fluid retention, swelling, and shortness of breath. In addition to kidneys, AL amyloidosis may affect the heart, peripheral nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, blood, lungs and skin. Heart complications, which affect more than a third of AL ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild-type Transthyretin Amyloid
Wild-type transthyretin amyloid (WTTA), also known as senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA), is a disease that typically affects the heart and tendons of elderly people. It is caused by accumulation of a wild-type (that is to say a normal) protein called transthyretin. This is in contrast to a related condition called transthyretin-related hereditary amyloidosis where a genetically mutated transthyretin protein tends to deposit at a much earlier age than in WTTA, due to abnormal conformation and bioprocessing. It belongs to a group of diseases called amyloidosis, chronic progressive conditions linked to abnormal deposition of normal or abnormal proteins, because these proteins are misshapen and cannot be properly degraded and eliminated by the cell metabolism. Signs and symptoms Wild-type transthyretin amyloid accumulates mainly in the heart, where it causes stiffness and often thickening of its walls, leading consequently to shortness of breath and intolerance to exercise, called dia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy
Familial amyloid polyneuropathy, also called transthyretin-related hereditary amyloidosis, transthyretin amyloidosis abbreviated also as ATTR (hereditary form), or Corino de Andrade's disease, is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease. It is a form of amyloidosis, and was first identified and described by Portuguese neurologist Mário Corino da Costa Andrade, in 1952. FAP is distinct from senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA), which is not inherited, and which was determined to be the primary cause of death for 70% of supercentenarians who have been autopsied. FAP can be ameliorated by liver transplantation. Presentation Usually manifesting itself between 20 and 40 years of age, it is characterized by pain, paresthesia, muscular weakness and autonomic dysfunction. In its terminal state, the kidneys and the heart are affected. FAP is characterized by the systemic deposition of amyloidogenic variants of the transthyretin protein, especially in the peripheral nervous sys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haemodialysis-associated Amyloidosis
Amyloidosis is the accumulation on misfolded protein fibers in the body. This is very common condition associated with many of the chronic illness. Haemodialysis-associated amyloidosis is a form of systemic amyloidosis associated with chronic kidney failure. Even if this is common in CKD patients with chronic regular dialysis, it can be also seen in patient with CKD but have never dialysed too. Presentation Long-term haemodialysis results in a gradual accumulation of β2 microglobulin, a serum protein, in the blood. It accumulates because it is unable to cross the dialysis filter. Affected individuals usually present after 5 years of dialysis rarely before that. The tendency of haemodialysis-associated amyloidosis is to be articular in general affecting the joints. Diagnosis Prevention The mainstay of management of the dialysis related amyloidosis is the prevention than the other type of treatment methods. Because most of the medical and surgical managements for this cond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organ-limited Amyloidosis
Organ-limited amyloidosis is a category of amyloidosis where the distribution can be associated primarily with a single organ. It is contrasted to systemic amyloidosis, and it can be caused by several different types of amyloid. In almost all of the organ-specific pathologies, there is debate as to whether the amyloid plaques are the causal agent of the disease or instead a downstream consequence of a common idiopathic agent. The associated proteins are indicated in parentheses. Neurological amyloid * Alzheimer's disease ( Aβ 39-43) * Parkinson's disease (alpha-synuclein) * Huntington's disease (huntingtin protein) * Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies caused by prion protein (PrP) were sometimes classed as amyloidoses, as one of the four pathological features in diseased tissue is the presence of amyloid plaques. These diseases include; ** Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (PrP in cerebrum) ** Kuru (diffuse PrP deposits in brain) ** Fatal familial insomnia (PrP in thalamus) ** ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the collection of symptoms and signs associated with median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel. Most CTS is related to idiopathic compression of the median nerve as it travels through the wrist at the carpal tunnel (IMNCT). Idiopathic means that there is no other disease process contributing to pressure on the nerve. As with most structural issues, it occurs in both hands, and the strongest risk factor is genetics. Other conditions can cause CTS such as wrist fracture or rheumatoid arthritis. After fracture, swelling, bleeding, and deformity compress the median nerve. With rheumatoid arthritis, the enlarged synovial lining of the tendons causes compression. The main symptoms are numbness and tingling in the thumb, index finger, middle finger and the thumb side of the ring finger. People often report pain, but pain without tingling is not characteristic of IMNCT. Rather, the numbness can be so intense that it is described as painful. Symptoms a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organ Transplantation
Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transported from a donor site to another location. Organs and/or tissues that are transplanted within the same person's body are called autografts. Transplants that are recently performed between two subjects of the same species are called allografts. Allografts can either be from a living or cadaveric source. Organs that have been successfully transplanted include the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine, thymus and uterus. Tissues include bones, tendons (both referred to as musculoskeletal grafts), corneae, skin, heart valves, nerves and veins. Worldwide, the kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organs, followed by the liver and then the heart. Corneae and musculoskeletal grafts are the most commonly transplanted tissue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardiology
Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology. Physicians who specialize in this field of medicine are called cardiologists, a specialty of internal medicine. Pediatric cardiologists are pediatricians who specialize in cardiology. Physicians who specialize in cardiac surgery are called cardiothoracic surgeons or cardiac surgeons, a specialty of general surgery. Specializations All cardiologists study the disorders of the heart, but the study of adult and child heart disorders each require different training pathways. Therefore, an adult cardiologist (often simply called "cardiologist") is inadequately trained to take care of children, and pediatric cardiologists are not trained to treat adult heart disease. Surgical aspects are not included in ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proteinuria
Proteinuria is the presence of excess proteins in the urine. In healthy persons, urine contains very little protein; an excess is suggestive of illness. Excess protein in the urine often causes the urine to become foamy (although this symptom may also be caused by other conditions). Severe proteinuria can cause nephrotic syndrome in which there is worsening swelling of the body. Signs and symptoms Proteinuria often causes no symptoms and it may only be discovered incidentally. Foamy urine is considered a cardinal sign of proteinuria, but only a third of people with foamy urine have proteinuria as the underlying cause. It may also be caused by bilirubin in the urine (bilirubinuria), retrograde ejaculation, pneumaturia (air bubbles in the urine) due to a fistula, or drugs such as pyridium. Causes There are three main mechanisms to cause proteinuria: * Due to disease in the glomerulus * Because of increased quantity of proteins in serum (overflow proteinuria) * Due to low rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
