News tagged with amyloidosis

In medicine, amyloidosis refers to a variety of conditions whereby the body produces "bad proteins", denoted as amyloid proteins, which are abnormally deposited in organs and/or tissues and cause harm. A protein is described as being amyloid if, due to an alteration in its secondary structure, it takes on a particular aggregated insoluble form, similar to the beta-pleated sheet. Symptoms vary widely depending upon the site of amyloid deposition, i.e. where in the body these "bad proteins" are found in significant numbers. Amyloidosis may be inherited or acquired.