Therapeutic Outcome of Lenalidomide-dexamethasone in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Systemic Immunoglobulin Light Chain (AL) Amyloidosis : A Single-center Analysis and Review of the Literature

Article信州医学雑誌 70(1) : 29-38(2022)departmental bulletin pape

Elderly patient with 5q spinal muscular atrophy type 4 markedly improved by Nusinersen

Available online 17 May 2020.ArticleJournal of the Neurological Sciences.415:116901(2020)journal articl

A novel CACNA1A nonsense variant in a patient presenting with paroxysmal exertion-induced dyskinesia

ArticleJOURNAL OF THE NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES. 399:214-216 (2019)journal articl

Hereditary Fibrinogen Aα-Chain Amyloidosis in Asia: Clinical and Molecular Characteristics

Hereditary fibrinogen Aα-chain amyloidosis (Aα-chain amyloidosis) is a type of autosomal dominant systemic amyloidosis caused by mutations in fibrinogen Aα-chain gene (FGA). Patients with Aα-chain amyloidosis have been mainly reported in Western countries but have been rarely reported in Asia, with only five patients with Aα-chain amyloidosis being reported in Korea, China, and Japan. Clinically, the most prominent manifestation in Asian patients with Aα-chain amyloidosis is progressive nephropathy caused by excessive amyloid deposition in the glomeruli, which is similar to that observed in patients with Aα-chain amyloidosis in Western countries. In molecular features in Asian Aα-chain amyloidosis, the most common variant, E526V, was found in only one Chinese kindred, and other four kindred each had a different variant, which have not been identified in other countries. These variants are located in the C-terminal region (amino acid residues 517–555) of mature Aα-chain, which was similar to that observed in patients with Aα-chain amyloidosis in other countries. The precise number of Asian patients with Aα-chain amyloidosis is unclear. However, patients with Aα-chain amyloidosis do exist in Asian countries, and the majority of these patients may be diagnosed with other types of systemic amyloidosis

Ocular findings in patients with acquired ATTRv amyloidosis following domino liver transplantation.

PurposeTo investigate the presence of amyloidosis-related ocular findings in patients who received domino liver transplantation from ATTRv amyloidosis donors.MethodsWe reviewed the ocular findings in patients who had previously undergone domino liver transplantation and received ophthalmologic examinations between January 2009 and March 2023. The presence of amyloidosis-related ocular findings was retrospectively assessed by two ophthalmologists.ResultsDuring the study period, a total of 7 patients with 14 eyes were examined. All patients were considered as acquired ATTRv amyloidosis. The mean age at the final visit was 64.6±8.4 years (52-75 years), and the mean time since domino liver transplantation was 167.6±76.2 months (69-257 months). The two evaluators' assessments for amyloidosis-related ocular findings were completely identical. No amyloid fibril deposition was observed in the pupil, lens, or vitreous. Five patients (10 eyes) had a Schirmer test result of 5mm or less than 5 mm, and four patients with a total of 8 eyes underwent fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography, and no evidence of retinal amyloid angiopathy was found on fluorescein angiography. However, three patients with 6 eyes showed choroidal amyloid angiopathy on indocyanine green angiography.ConclusionWhile cases of choroidal amyloid angiopathy were observed, serious amyloidosis-related ocular complications such as vitreous opacity or secondary glaucoma did not occur even in the long term after domino liver transplantation

Genetic counselling for at-risk family members with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis: data from a single-centre study

Background: Hereditary transthyretin-related amyloidosis is an autosomal dominant disorder. Recently, disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) have been developed. For at-risk individuals, genetic analysis aids in the early administration of medical care; however, few studies have evaluated the current status of genetic counselling and management of presymptomatic carriers of amyloidogenic variants. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of 202 consecutive participants. Results: A total of 103 clients who received genetic counselling for predictive testing were at-risk, and 83 underwent predictive testing. Genetic testing results were positive in 33 patients, 11 of whom had confirmed amyloid deposition and were administered DMTs. For presymptomatic V30M (p.V50M) carriers, 32.0 ± 2.4 years (median ± standard error) was the age when amyloid deposition was first identified (95% confidence interval 27.4-36.6). Serum transthyretin (TTR) levels decreased serially with an estimated slope of -1.2 mg/dL/year. Conclusions: Our study suggests the clinical utility of management using a combination of predictive testing and monitoring methods. Psychosocial support should be considered with collaboration between geneticists/genetic counsellors and psychologists. For a more optimised protocol for monitoring and designing future interventional trials in presymptomatic carriers, prospective cohort studies are necessary to clarify the natural history, particularly in the early stages of the disease.Articlejournal articl

The pathological and biochemical identification of possible seed-lesions of transmitted transthyretin amyloidosis after domino liver transplantation.

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 lesions (possible seed‐lesions) of this iatrogenic amyloidosis in two recipients following liver grafting from FAP patients. Patient 1 underwent DLT at age 65 from an FAP patient with a Val30Met TTR variant and patient 2 received DLT from an FAP patient with a Val30Leu TTR variant at age 32. Patient 2 was started on diflunisal administration from 4 years after DLT. While neither patient had symptoms of FAP, small amyloid deposits were detected on the gastroduodenal mucosae 14 months and 12 years after DLT in patient 1 and patient 2, respectively. The amyloid was analyzed using a laser microdissection system and tandem mass spectrometry. Biochemical analysis indicated that the amyloid was composed mostly of variant TTR produced from the transplanted liver in both patients. In patient 1, wild‐type TTR amyloid was detectable in the duodenal mucosa obtained 2 years after DLT. This is the first study to successfully capture the pathological and biochemical features of initial‐stage amyloid lesions in DLT recipients. The findings clearly indicate that amyloid deposition can start by deposition of variant TTR followed by deposition of wild‐type TTR, and blocking of amyloid seed formation from variant TTR may be a key to prevent or delay the development of DLT‐associated amyloidosis.ArticleThe Journal of Pathology.2(2):72-79(2015)journal articl

The pathological and biochemical identification of possible seed‐lesions of transmitted transthyretin amyloidosis after domino liver transplantation

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 lesions (possible seed‐lesions) of this iatrogenic amyloidosis in two recipients following liver grafting from FAP patients. Patient 1 underwent DLT at age 65 from an FAP patient with a Val30Met TTR variant and patient 2 received DLT from an FAP patient with a Val30Leu TTR variant at age 32. Patient 2 was started on diflunisal administration from 4 years after DLT. While neither patient had symptoms of FAP, small amyloid deposits were detected on the gastroduodenal mucosae 14 months and 12 years after DLT in patient 1 and patient 2, respectively. The amyloid was analyzed using a laser microdissection system and tandem mass spectrometry. Biochemical analysis indicated that the amyloid was composed mostly of variant TTR produced from the transplanted liver in both patients. In patient 1, wild‐type TTR amyloid was detectable in the duodenal mucosa obtained 2 years after DLT. This is the first study to successfully capture the pathological and biochemical features of initial‐stage amyloid lesions in DLT recipients. The findings clearly indicate that amyloid deposition can start by deposition of variant TTR followed by deposition of wild‐type TTR, and blocking of amyloid seed formation from variant TTR may be a key to prevent or delay the development of DLT‐associated amyloidosis