TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 57. Amyloidosis A1 - Palmer, Shanique R. A1 - Mueller, Paul S. A1 - Gertz, Morie A2 - Imboden, John B. A2 - Hellmann, David B. A2 - Stone, John H. PY - 2013 T2 - CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Rheumatology, 3e AB - Amyloidosis is not a single disease but a heterogeneous group of diseases that share in common the extracellular deposition of insoluble fibrillar proteins in tissues and organs. These protein deposits derive from diverse and unrelated serum precursor proteins, yet have similar beta-pleated sheet structural conformations. Furthermore, all forms of amyloid display apple-green birefringence when stained with the cotton-wool dye Congo red and viewed under polarized light. Indeed, this observation (via tissue biopsy) remains the primary means of establishing the diagnosis of amyloidosis. Accumulation of amyloid deposits leads to tissue and organ dysfunction, which in turn causes clinical symptoms and, for some patients, death. SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/24 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=57275085 ER -