Amyloidosis is defined as a rare disease that occurs when abnormal proteins called amyloids collect in your organs. These amyloids are produced by the bone marrow and then move into tissues and organs. While the organs most commonly affected are the heart, liver, kidneys and digestive organs, amyloids can build up anywhere in the body.

Amyloidosis

Since symptoms of amyloidosis vary depending on which organ is affected, getting a diagnosis can be difficult. Among the disease's chief symptoms are weakness, swelling in the legs, digestive issues, numbness in the extremities, easy bruising, fatigue and protein in the urine. If you experience any of these symptoms on an ongoing basis, it is important to call your doctor. While these symptoms can be a sign of any number of underlying symptoms, your doctor may want to test you for amyloidosis.

Biopsy

When checking you for amyloidosis your doctor will take blood and urine samples. Most likely these samples will be used to rule out other conditions since the only way to truly diagnose amyloidosis is through a tissue biopsy. However, these tests could demonstrate abnormal presence of protein in the blood and urine, which is a sign of amyloidosis. In order to sample your tissue, your doctor will use a needle to take a piece out. If your doctor thinks your amyloidosis is affecting numerous parts of your body, he may take numerous samples. This can be quite painful as samples could come from your belly fat, gums, skin, rectum, bone marrow or salivary glands. You will not require hospitalization for any of these samples and a local anesthetic will be used for most. Once the samples have been collected, your doctor will send them to a lab to check for the presence of amyloids.

Diagnosis

If your doctor suspects some of your internal organs have been affected by amyloidosis, you may need to be hospitalized so he can take samples from places such as the kidneys or liver. While there is no cure for the condition, there are treatments available for cutting down amyloid production such as medications and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. In extreme cases, some organs may require a transplantation.

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Amyloidosis