[Amyloidosis and aging]

Abstract

Amyloidosis is a heterogeneous group of extracellular protein deposition diseases. Age-related amyloidosis may be systemic or localized. The systemic forms include associated-myeloma AL amyloidosis and senile systemic amyloidosis which is the only clear-cut systemic form related to age and derived from normal transthyretin. In localized amyloidosis, the fibril protein precursors are synthesized in the tissue involved by the amyloid. In most cases, localized age-related amyloidosis does not appear to cause clinical disease with the exception of amyloid associated with Alzeihmer's disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The significance of aortic amyloidosis, amyloidosis of seminal vesicles, amyloid of the endocrine glands, and articular amyloidosis remains unknown.