Symptoms of amyloidosis
How does amyloidosis present?
Patients with amyloidosis usually present with edema and nephrotic syndrome.
However, restrictive cardiomyopathy, hepatomegaly (from infiltration), and peripheral neuropathy (carpal tunnel syndrome) are also common presentations.
Severe edema, often with anasarca and pleural effusions, is common, and other clinical signs include easy bruising and macroglossia. Involvement of the adrenal glands can cause primary hypoadrenalism.
In some cases, amyloid is confined to a single organ including bowel, bladder, and upper airways; these localized disorders are not usually associated with kidney disease.
AA amyloid is usually associated with a chronic illness such as rheumatoid arthritis, bronchiectasis, or familial Mediterranean fever.
