Amyloidosis is a “group of diseases” that have the common feature where abnormal proteins (or in some cases normal proteins) behave abnormally, and the breakdown product of these proteins fold upon themselves, creating amyloid” fibrils.” Amyloid fibrils may affect only a single organ or, often, are spread throughout the body. They can affect different organs in different people, and there are different types of amyloid proteins, making this complex disease often elusive to diagnose. Severe amyloidosis can result in life-threatening damage to these organs or even failure. This overview offers a brief summary of this complex disease.
