Amyloidosis Diagnosis

Even though an amyloidosis diagnosis is uncommon, you and your doctor shouldn't rule it out. Since it usually presents in your organs, a tissue biopsy of the affected organ, e.g., kidney, endomyocardial, liver and endoscopic GI, usually can confirm the presence of amyloids. The alternative to biopsy is Congo red stain, which can help detect 85% of amyloidosis patients. Another less invasive method is fat pad aspiration, which detects up to 70% of cases.

Early diagnosis is critical. And because the amyloid deposits are similar, identifying the correct protein type is vital to choosing therapy and determining the best treatment outcome.

Immunohistochemistry, immunofixation blood test and immunogold labeling are techniques to characterize the protein, but each is limited. Proteomics technology has significantly improved the typing of amyloid, but it is only available at specialized centers like City of Hope.