title: Clinical and morphological diagnosis of cardiac AL amyloidosis: a review of findings and difficulties as illustrated in one case.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Primary amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis results from plasma cell dyscrasia. Fibrillar deposits of monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains are present in various organs, especially in the heart. The patients suffer from fatal cardiac dysfunction.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report the case of a 54-year-old man with symptoms of cardiac arrhythmia which was refractory to conventional treatment and ablations. At a later stage of his disease, the diagnosis of AL amyloidosis associated with monoclonal gammapathy of uncertain significance was established. Echocardiography, electrocardiography, serum immunofixation studies, abdominal fat aspirate biopsy, and bone marrow biopsy indirectly confirmed the diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis. The patient died.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnosis of AL cardiac amyloidosis is difficult, the prognosis always serious, the available therapy limited, and the mortality high.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Institute of Rheumatology, Warsaw, Poland. monika.prochorec@interia.pl
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prochorec-Sobieszek
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Szufladowicz
authors.forename: Włodzimierz
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Szaroszyk
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Marios
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loukas
mesh_terms: D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D001706:Biopsy; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014463:Ultrasonography