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Nausea, bloating, indigestion, heartburn, cramps, diarrhoea, constipation, loss of appetite, etc. These are but a few of the issues that patients suffering from Amyloidosis face

What is hATTR Amyloidosis or FAP? Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy (FAP) is a rare inherited disease caused by a specific mutation in your  own DNA in a gene which codes for the Transthyretin protein (TTR). If you have this mutation, the TTR  protein becomes sticky and forms clumps of amyloid within your small blood vessels and over many  years this will damage your nerves (causing numbness and weakness) and heart (causing heart  failure).   Inheritance Traits These symptoms do not appear until a person is an adult. FAP is passed on between generations in an autosomal dominant pattern – which means if someone has the disease then half of his/her brothers and sisters will have the disease and half of his/her children will also develop the disease in the future. There are an estimated 50,000 patients with FAP worldwide and 100 in New Zealand. Present Treatment in NZ Up until now the only effective treatment for FAP has been liver transplantation, which replaces the liver which makes the abnormal TTR with one which does not. Unfortunately liver transplantation is very limited and to-date only 9 New Zealanders with FAP have been transplanted. CRISPR/Cas9

Amyloidosis is a tricky prankster in that as a disease, the manifestation of it often goes under the radar as each organ effected can disguise

When a patient is diagnosed with amyloidosis, the care of that patient often brings in a multifaceted and multidisciplinary type of  involvement of medical experts

TTR Amyloidosis disease is slowly gaining recognition particularly in New Zealand but in overseas countries such as in America and Europe, research work have been

As caregivers, we should not overlook the physical, mental and emotional toll when caring for our loved ones with Amyloidosis. The best remedy for us

Correct identification by doctors on the causal amyloid protein is absolutely crucial for clinical management in order to avoid misdiagnosis..