What causes AMYLOIDOSIS?
Although amyloidosis is not cancer, it is very serious and can be disabling or life threatening. It may be associated with some forms of cancer (multiple myeloma, Hodgkin Lymphoma) and familial Mediterranean fever, an intestinal disease. Sometimes it occurs as a result of long-term kidney dialysis treatment. The exact cause of amyloidosis is not known. Normally blood marrow makes antibodies, proteins that protect against infection and disease. After these antibodies have served their function, they are broken down and recycled in the body. In amyloidosis, cells in the bone marrow produce antibodies that cannot be broken down. These antibodies begin to build up in the bloodstream and ultimately leave the bloodstream and deposit in the tissues or organs as amyloid. How is AMYLOIDOSIS diagnosed? Diagnosis of amyloidosis usually begins when routine tests reveal high levels of protein in the urine, followed by a biopsy of samples collected from the abdomen, rectum or bone marrow; however, a
