$tagsList = ['Hidradenitis Suppurativa','Hives','HIV/AIDS','Psoriatic Arthritis','Psoriasis']; $catList = ['Hidradenitis Suppurativa','Hives','HIV/AIDS','Psoriatic Arthritis','Psoriasis']; Skip to main content

Wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt) is a non-hereditary form of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) that commonly leads to peripheral neuropathy and carpal tunnel syndrome. The symptoms of ATTRwt usually do not appear until after 60 in men and women. However, what makes ATTRwt particularly dangerous is that it can remain undiagnosed, especially in women. Few studies have been performed to assess the characteristics of ATTRwt in women.

Almost 80 patients diagnosed with ATTRwt between 2012 and 2020 at Kochi Medical School Hospital were included in one retrospective study published in Circulation Reports. Of these patients, 17.9% were female. All patients included in the study had undergone technetium-99 m pyrophosphate scintigraphy for diagnosis.

A diagnosis of ATTRwt was confirmed through genetic testing or a family history of the variant ATTR. If there were no identifiable mutations following testing, researchers classified the patientโ€™s cardiac amyloidosis as ATTRwt.

Ultimately, no difference in age of diagnosis between men and women was found. However, women tended to be older when first experiencing cardiac symptoms. Women also had a smaller left ventricular wall thickness and a higher left ventricular ejection fraction than men. In addition, women showed less left ventricular hypertrophy at the time of diagnosis than men.

In closing, lower threshold values for diagnosis have been discussed regarding ATTR-wt. Clinicians should use all possible diagnostic tools within reason when ATTR-wt is suspected. An abdominal fat pad biopsy may help determine a diagnosis in women, especially women who are elderly [1].

Source:

[1] Ochi, Y., Kubo, T., Baba, Y., Sugiura, K., Ueda, M., Miyagawa, K., Noguchi, T., Hirota, T., Hamada, T., Yamasaki, N., & Kitaoka, H. (2021). Wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis in female patients โ€• consideration of sex differences โ€•.ย Circulation Reports,ย 3(8), 465โ€“471. https://doi.org/10.1253/circrep.cr-21-0067

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