It’s very common that some nutrients become harmful for health, when their level in your body crosses the optimum level. Do you know about a protein that causes severe health conditions, even organ failure, when it accumulates in excess quantity? Here is one called Amyloid protein. The building up of amyloid protein in your organs like kidneys, nerves, digestive organs or heart can cause a serious health condition known as Amyloidosis. Amyloidosis often affects your whole body but sometimes it remains localized and affects a specific organ leading to its complete failure.
Which organs affected by amyloid can help you identify the symptoms. But at an early stage amyloidosis never causes obvious symptoms. However some warning signs of the condition include:
- Fatigue.
- Easy bruising.
- Shortness of breath.
- Tingling or numbness.
- Leg swelling.
The treatment options for amyloidosis prefer to reduce the production of this protein in your body. Common treatments or therapies for the condition include:
- Anti-inflammatory medications.
- Sleep therapy.
- Food changes.
- Chemotherapy with bone marrow or stem cell transplant.
- Organ transplant.
What is Amyloidosis?
An inherited group of diseases caused by high concentration of a protein amyloid in your body is called amyloidosis. It is categorized into several types on the basis of their location. Multiple organs are affected with conditions including your digestive organs, heart and kidneys.
Its deposits usually build in your:
- Blood vessels.
- Nerves.
- Spleen.
- Liver.
- Kidneys.
- Heart.
Amyloid protein sometimes accumulates throughout the body and is called ad systemic or body-wide amyloidosis. However, in most cases it builds up in specific organs and damages them leading to their complete failure. This is a serious condition.
According to research, doctors and scientists have found that most types of amyloidosis are not curable or preventable, you can manage your symptoms with certain treatment options.
This article is for you if you are eager to learn more about amyloidosis, its types, cause, symptoms and treatments or therapies.
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Types of Amyloidosis
Amyloidosis has different types and each type has different types of treatments. So it is necessary to diagnose the condition and its type accurately.
Its types have specific names that have certain symbolic representatives. For example in each type, the “A” stands for Amyloid and the words or terms following it are the specific types of amyloid protein it contains.
Common types of amyloidosis include:
Light Chain (AL) Amyloidosis
This is also known as immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis. It is the most common type of condition that is diagnosed worldwide. It is also called the primary type of amyloidosis.
It usually occurs due to the accumulation of an abnormal amyloid protein called light-chain in your organs like in your:
- Gastrointestinal tract.
- Liver.
- Kidneys.
- Nervous organs.
- Heart.
Autoimmune (AA) Amyloidosis
This type usually occurs after an inflammatory disease like inflammatory bowel disease or rheumatoid arthritis of tuberculosis, or a chronic disinfection like tuberculosis.
According to research, more than half of the patients of AA are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The condition rarely damages your heart, liver or intestine but its main target is your kidneys. This is also known as secondary amyloidosis.
Beta-2 Micro-globulin Amyloidosis (Abeta2m)
People having kidney problems who are on dialysis for a long period usually develop this type of amyloidosis. In this type the deposition of amyloid protein in the tendons and joints causes severe pain and stiffness in them.
ATTR Amyloidosis
This the rarest type of amyloidosis as it occurs due to a genetic mutation. As it is inherited, it runs in families. The condition affected your:
- Liver.
- Kidneys.
- Heart.
- Nerves.
Localized Amyloidosis (ALoc)
Localized amyloidosis is further divided into many types. It typically affects your eye, bladder, bronchus or trachea. The accumulation of deposits of amyloid protein causes failure of their organs. Studies, however, claim that this type of amyloidosis also has a link with certain proteins found in your heart and skin or in endocrine glands.
Wild-Type ATTR
The condition is closely related to aging princesses. As studies explain that the most of the people affected by Wild-Type ATTR are of older age. However, new research has found that the condition also affects women and younger people. This type of amyloidosis typically affects your heat while its most common and first to appear symptom is recognized as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Symptoms of Amyloidosis
As studies show that at early stages amyloidosis cannot be recognized easily because it doesn’t show its symptoms earlier. However, at severe stages, you can experience the symptoms depending on the type of amyloidosis you have or the organs that are affected by it.
This can be explained through examples like:
A person having the heart affected by amyloidosis will experience:
- Chest pain.
- Shortness of breath.
- Lightheartedness due to very low blood pressure.
- Slow, fast or irregular heart rate.
And if the affected organs are kidneys, the symptoms may include:
- Swelling of the legs.
- Fluid building )edema).
- Foamy urine due to excess protein.
And, in case of live damage due to amyloidosis, the symptoms may be:
- The swelling in the upper part of abdomen.
- The gastrointestinal infection causes:
- Weight loss.
- Constipation.
- Feeling fullness right after eating.
- Nausea.
- Appetite loss.
- Diarrhea.
In case your nervous system is affected by the condition, you may experience:
- Diarrhea.
- Nausea.
- Numbness.
- Tingling in your feet, hands and lower legs.
- Inability to feel cold or heat.
- Feeling dizzy when standing up.
Beside these, some general symptoms that are found in all types include:
- Swollen tongue.
- Fatigue.
- Weakness.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome or tingling and numbness in your hands and feet.
- Bruising around our eyes or on skin.
Causes of Amyloidosis
The general cause of amyloidosis is building up of amyloid in your organs. The type of amyloidosis depends on the area or organ getting affected.
Studies show that some types of amyloidosis are transferred genetically from parents to next generation but others are caused by:
- Certain inflammatory diseases.
- Being on dialysis for a long time.
Who is at More Risk of Developing Amyloidosis?
Amyloidosis can affect anyone at any age. However, certain risk fatir increase the chance to develop amyloidosis symptoms, such as:
Age: Most of the people affected by amyloidosis are between the ages of 45 to 65. This means it is an age related condition, especially its type AKL amyloidosis.
Sex: Research suggests that it affects both male and females at the same rate but clinical data shows that the number of male patients is greater than female.
Race: African Americans are at greater risk of being affected by the condition.
Family History: It is a hereditary disease that usually runs in families.
Medical History: Experiencing symptoms of certain chronic infection or inflammatory disease increases the risk of developing amyloidosis.
Kidney Health: It is another important factor that makes you vulnerable to this condition. Your kidney health is associated with the risk of developing amyloidosis, if you have damaged kidneys with a dialysis state. You can develop amyloidosis easily.
Diagnosis of Amyloidosis
Your medical history and symptoms help diagnose amyloidosis. If you experience the symptoms, tell your doctor about them openly because amyloidosis symptoms are similar to some other conditions. If you don’t explain them clearly, your doctor may be misled. Therefore, it is observed that misdiagnosis of amyloidosis is common.
Some important tests to diagnose the condition include:
Echocardiogram: This test is used to create a clear picture of the inside of your heart with the help of sound waves.
Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy: In this procedure, the doctor uses a needle to remove a small amount of fluid from inside of your bones. The sample is observed in the laboratory to find out any abnormal cells.
Blood and Urine Tests: These tests help find out about your liver and thyroid function along with amyloid protein levels.
Biopsy: A sample of tissues is taken from your affected organ like heart, liver or kidneys to analyze if there’s any amyloid deposit.
After a correct diagnosis, your doctor proceeds to identify the type of amyloidosis. For this, they usually use protein electrophoresis or immunochemical staining tests.
Amyloidosis Treatment
Progression of amyloidosis can damage your organs. Therefore, an immediate and effective treatment plan should be made. Your doctor will deduce the type of treatment after analyzing the type of amyloidosis or the organ affected by it.
Common treatment options include medications, chemotherapy, or transplant. However, certain natural complementary therapies can also ease the symptoms.
According to research, the condition cannot be cured completely but you can just slow down the production of amyloid protein and reduce the symptoms.
Amyloidosis has many forms and its symptoms change from time to time. You can learn about general information about how to address its symptoms through this article.
General Treatments
At first, your doctor will recommend the following treatment options:
- Blood thinner medications to prevent blood clots.
- Pain relievers.
- Medications to control your heart rate.
- Diuretics to reduce the fluid accumulation in your body.
- Drugs to manage vomiting, diarrhea and nausea.
AL Amyloidosis
Chemotherapy is the best treatment for this type. These drugs are typically used to treat cancer but as they destroy the abnormal cells, they are also useful for destroying amyloid protein cells.
After hate, you may go for bone marrow transplant to replace damaged organs.
Common drugs to treat AL amyloidosis include:
Immunomodulators: The medications used to dampen an overactive immune system.
Proteasome Inhibitors: Medications used to block the production of amyloid protein.
AA Amyloidosis
The cause of the condition decides the treatment option. Bacterial infection will be treated with antibiotics while anti-inflammatory drugs are used to treat inflammatory conditions.
Beta-2 Microglobulin Amyloidosis
Certain hemodialysis techniques can help remove beta-2 micro-globulin. The other option is to have a kidney transplant.
ATTR Amyloidosis
Liver transplant is recommended to treat the type of amyloidosis because production of abnormal protein in the liver causes ATTR amyloidosis.
Complications related to Amyloidosis
The condition has potential to damage an organ completely. That’s why a proper diagnosis and treatment is crucial. Potential damages include:
Heart Damage: Your heart beat is connected with an electrical system image. Amyloidosis causes interruption in the electrical circuit and weakens the heart rate. Amyloid protein causes the weakness in the pumping action of your heart leading to stiffness in hearty muscles. These factors lead to lower levels of blood pressure and shortness of breath. This thing usually ends in heart failure.
Kidney Damage: These bean-shaped organs sometimes fail in removing wastes from your blood. This happens due to damaged fibers inside your kidneys. The overworked kidneys usually end in kidney failure.
Nerve Damage: Accumulation of amyloid in your nerves causes a serious damage that often leads to tingling and numbness in your fingers and toes. Other nerves like this are related to your blood pressure and bowel function can also be affected.
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Conclusion
Amyloidosis is the combination of different diseases that are triggered by the accumulation of amyloid protein in your body or specific organs of the body.
The condition isn’t curable but some symptoms can be managed with certain treatment options. Talking to your doctor is the first-step you would take after the diagnosis of amyloidosis. If a treatment plan doesn’t work for you, your doctor would work with you to make suitable adjustments as needed to help reduce your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
