AL Amyloidosis
AL Amyloidosis (Also known as Primary Amyloidosis) can be caused by bone marrow cancer, but not always. The truth is that no one really knows why this occurs, but what they do know is that the antibodies ( that are supposed to protect you are somehow not created properly in the bone marrow-so rather than break down and get recycled, they build up in the blood and get deposited in various tissues and organs. When this happens, the very antibodies that are supposed to protect you from diseases become the proteins that cause the disease Amyloidosis. AL Amyloidosis tends to affect the internal organs such as:
- Kidney
- Spleen
- Liver
- Lymph Nodes
As a result, they may quit functioning the way they are supposed to.
AA Amyloidosis
AA Amyloidosis also known as Secondary Amyloidosis is associated with Chronic Inflammatory Diseases such as:
- TB
- Inflammatory Arthritis
- Osteomyelitis (bone infections)
Like the other forms of Amyloidosis, AA Amyloidosis is a build-up of Amyloid proteins in the bloodstream that end up getting trapped inside the tissues and organs causing a lot of pain and other serious problems. When these proteins get trapped inside the internal organs, they can cause the organs to quit functioning normally.
Hereditary Amyloidosis
Hereditary Amyloidosis also known as Familial Amyloidosis This is thought to be inherited and it affects the:
- Liver
- Kidneys
- Heart
- Nervous system
Wild-type ATTR Amyloidosis
Wild-type ATTR Amyloidosis once known as SSA or SCA, which stood for Senile Systemic Amyloidosis and Senile Cardiac Amyloidosis, They are now outdated terminologies as this form of disease is not known to be directly related to dementia, but it is related to aging.This is a disease mostly found in men. The average age at diagnosis is 75 and as a result has often overlooked as an amyloidosis disease. because so many people experience heart problems as they age. “Wild-type” refers to this form of the disease because it is the natural form of this protein, without genetic mutation. These deposits can interfere with the heart’s normal function, by causing stiffness of the heart tissue. Recent data suggests that lumbar spine involvement as well as a rupture of the biceps tendon in the forearm can precede cardiac involvement by many years.
While there are other forms of Amyloidosis and the disease can affect anyone, all forms overabundance of abnormal protein production which gather together and can disrupt the normal function of, and cause damage to, one organ or tissue or multiple organs and tissues.