We report a rare case of dry eyes and dry mouth caused by primary amyloidosis. A 66-year-old woman with keratoconjunctivitis sicca and xerostomia died of acute respiratory failure. Shirmer's test, gum test, and sialography indicated Sjögren's syndrome. Lip biopsy revealed amyloid deposition around the salivary ducts. Bence-Jones protein was noted in the urine. At autopsy, amyloid deposition was...

Background Exceptional agers (85+ years) are characterized by preserved cognition presumably due to high cognitive reserve. In the current study, we examined whether personality, risk and protective factors for dementia as well quality of life associated with core features Alzheimer’s disease (amyloid-deposition hippocampal volume) in exceptional aging. Methods We studied 49 (average 87.8 years...

Amyloid deposition, a crucial event of Alzheimer's disease (AD), emerges in distinct brain regions. A key question is what triggers the assembly of the monomeric amyloid ß-protein (Aß) into fibrils in the regions. On the basis of our previous findings that gangliosides facilitate the initiation of Aß assembly at presynaptic neuritic terminals, we investigated how lipids, including gangliosides,...

Renal biopsy is commonly done in patients with increased bleeding risks due to chronic renal disease or multiple myeloma, (MM). Multiple myeloma causes renal impairment by amyloid deposition and immunoglobulin deposition, and it also can be the effect of the MM therapies. Renal biopsy is required to differentiate between these processes. Biopsy procedures are associated with increased risk of b...

Multiple nodules of AA (reactive systemic) amyloid were identified at necropsy in the lungs of a patient with Crohn's disease. No other organs were involved. Nodular pulmonary amyloidosis is usually caused by deposition of AL (primary) amyloid.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, accounts for approximately 60 percent of all victims of dementia and affects greater than 10 percent of the population over 65 years old. Although the cause is unknown, there is evidence that beta-amyloid plays an important role in its pathogenesis. The deposition of this type of amyloid in the brain and its implications in AD ...

Extensive beta-amyloid (A beta) deposits in brain parenchyma in the form of senile plaques and in blood vessels in the form of amyloid angiopathy are pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The mechanisms underlying A beta deposition remain unclear. Major efforts have focused on A beta production, but there is little to suggest that increased production of A beta plays a role in A b...

A 64-year-old woman newly diagnosed with IgG-λ type multiple myeloma was admitted for induction therapy. At the time of admission, she presented with petechial hemorrhage of the skin despite having no abnormalities in her coagulation or platelet function test results. During hospitalization, she developed severe melena. Small bowel endoscopy revealed multiple small ulcers in the jejunum. During...

A 62-year-old woman was found to have multiple bilateral pulmonary nodules showing different (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptakes on positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). Only the largest nodule in the left lower lobe showed an increased (18)F-FDG uptake on PET/CT. Three nodules were surgically resected from different lobes of the left lung. Two lobes were benign and show...

The most serious issue in domino liver transplantation (DLT) using liver grafts from patients with transthyretin (TTR)-related familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) is the development of iatrogenic transmitted amyloidosis (de novo amyloidosis) in DLT-recipients. However, little is known regarding the mechanisms of the initial stage of amyloid formation in these recipients. We detected initial l...