Heart transplantation in a 68-year-old patient with senile systemic amyloidosis

Am J Transplant. 2005 May;5(5):1159-62. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-6143.2005.00805.x.

Abstract

Senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA) results from deposition, predominantly in the heart, of amyloid fibrils derived from wild-type transthyretin (T TR) molecules. Cardiac autopsies indicate that SSA progressively increases in subjects 80 years of age and older. However, only a few cases of patients with SSA and cardiac failure have been recognized by cardiac biopsies during life. Here, we report a case of heart transplantation in a 68-year-old male patient with SSA. After cardiopulmonary resuscitation in October 1998, he underwent complete evaluation. Myocardial biopsies revealed the presence of amyloid deposition. Immunohistochemical staining of the amyloid indicated T TR. Genomic DNA analysis of the T TR exons did not result in any identification of a mutation. In 2001, heart transplantation was performed because progressive heart failure occurred. At the 1-year follow-up, no amyloid deposits were found in the donor heart. At the 2-year follow-up, the patient's physical and mental health was excellent. We conclude that heart transplantation can be an effective treatment in progressive heart failure due to SSA.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Amyloidosis / therapy*
  • Biopsy
  • Echocardiography
  • Exons
  • Graft Survival
  • Heart Diseases / therapy*
  • Heart Transplantation / methods*
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Male
  • Myocardium / pathology
  • Prealbumin / genetics*
  • Prealbumin / metabolism
  • Time Factors
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Prealbumin