ABSTRACT
AA amyloidosis is a relatively rare systemic form of amyloidosis in the United States, but is more prevalent in Europe, the Middle East and Far Eastern countries. The disease is likely underdiagnosed among patients who suffer from chronic inflammatory conditions. However, the significance of AA amyloid extends well beyond the relatively few sufferers of this disease. For one, AA amyloid is a model of amyloid formation that has had, and will continue to have, important implications for all forms of amyloid, including relatively common diseases that involve amyloid formation as a primary or secondary mechanism of cellular death and clinical morbidity, such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
