Famous people battling Amyloidosis

Michael York, an English film and stage actor, Wayne Howard, a sports performance trainer, competitive bodybuilder and lifelong athlete, and Martin McGuinness, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are among some others who suffered or are still suffering from Amyloidosis.

What is Amyloidosis?

According to NHS, Amyloidosis is the name for a group of rare, serious conditions caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body.

Amyloid deposits can build up in the heart, brain, kidneys, spleen and other parts of the body. Without treatment, this can lead to organ failure.

Symptoms

Amyloidosis symptoms usually depend on which tissues and organs are affected. Some common symptoms include:

• Feeling lightheaded or fainting, particularly after standing or sitting up
• Numbness or a tingling feeling in the hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy)
• Nausea, diarrhoea or constipation
• Numbness, tingling and pain in the wrist, hand and fingers (carpal tunnel syndrome) easy bruising
• Organ failure

Who is more likely to get affected?

According to John Hopkins Medicine, people at risk involve:

• Almost 70 per cent of people with amyloidosis are men.
• Some forms of amyloidosis are more likely to strike people living with infections or other conditions that cause chronic inflammation.
• People receiving long-term kidney dialysis are at risk of developing one type of amyloidosis, but modern dialysis techniques are making this less likely.
• Amyloidosis can exist on its own, or it can be related to another problem.
• There are different types of amyloidosis, and some are hereditary.

Types of Amyloidosis

• AL amyloidosis (immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis): AL amyloidosis is also called primary amyloidosis. It usually affects the heart, kidneys, liver and nerves.

• AA amyloidosis: Also known as secondary amyloidosis, this variety is usually triggered by an inflammatory disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

• Hereditary amyloidosis (familial amyloidosis). This inherited disorder often affects the nerves, heart and kidneys. It occurs when the liver produces an abnormal protein called transthyretin (TTR).

• Wild-type amyloidosis: This variety of amyloidosis occurs when the TTR protein made by the liver is normal but produces amyloid for unknown reasons.

Treatment

There is not currently a cure for amyloidosis. The amyloid deposits cannot be directly removed.

But there are treatments to stop more of the abnormal proteins being produced and treat your symptoms. Treatment depends upon the kind of Amyloidosis.

In most cases, the treatment will involve chemotherapy. Chemotherapy damages abnormal bone marrow cells and stops them from producing the abnormal proteins that form amyloid deposits.

Steroids are usually given together with chemotherapy to boost the effectiveness of the chemotherapy drugs. They may also lessen your chances of having a bad reaction to chemotherapy.