Amyloidosis

Amyloidosis is an uncommon plasma-cell dyscrasia with an incidence of eight patients per million per year. It is often difficult to recognize because of the myriad symptoms and vague nature of the clinical presentation. Symptoms include fatigue, dyspnea, edema, paresthesias, and weight loss. Clinical syndromes at presentation include nephrotic-range proteinuria with or without renal insufficiency, cardiomyopathy, hepatomegaly, symptomatic peripheral neuropathy, and autonomic failure. Recent advances have occurred in evaluation of patients by using the free light chain assay and new prognostic assessments with cardiac biomarkers. Newly developed therapeutic strategies, involving high-dose and intermediate-dose chemotherapy, have evolved in the last 3 years. This paper reviews a diagnostic pathway clinicians can use to diagnose the disorder, assess a patient's prognosis, and logically plan a therapeutic strategy.