The condition of General Pervez Musharraf, the former President of Pakistan and the dictator of the army, remains critical. He has been hospitalized for the past 3 weeks due to a rare disease called amyloidosis. They are going through such a difficult phase from where there is no possibility of recovery and in this disease all the organs stop working. Let’s know about this rare disease-
What is amyloidosis? ( What is Amyloidosis)
Amyloidosis is a rare disease that occurs when the body produces an abnormal protein called amyloid, which interferes with the normal functioning of the body. Amyloid protein is not normally found in the body. These proteins can accumulate on organs such as the heart, kidneys, liver, spleen, nervous system and digestive system and can affect your body’s functions. Without treatment, amyloidosis can lead to organ failure.
Symptoms of Amyloidosis
Usually, symptoms of amyloidosis are not experienced until the condition has reached an advanced stage. Signs and symptoms depend on which organs are affected. As amyloidosis progresses, accumulation of amyloid can damage the heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, digestive tract, brain, or nerves.
Some of the symptoms include swelling of the ankles and feet, severe tiredness and weakness, shortness of breath even with low exertion, numbness, tingling or pain in the hands or feet, carpal tunnel syndrome, diarrhea, enlarged tongue, eyestrain. Purple spots around, include irregular heartbeat and difficulty swallowing.
Causes and associated risks of Amyloidosis
Amyloidosis is usually hereditary. Causes include inflammatory diseases or prolonged dialysis. Amyloidosis reduces the heart’s ability to pump blood between heartbeats, which leads to shortness of breath. If it affects the kidneys, it damages the filtering system, causing protein to leak from the blood into the urine. If amyloid affects the nerves that control intestinal function, a person may experience alternating constipation and diarrhea.
Treatment of Amyloidosis
There is currently no cure for amyloidosis. Amyloid protein cannot be removed directly. However, there are treatments to stop the production of more abnormal proteins. Chemotherapy is given to the patients in most of the cases. Steroids are usually given along with chemotherapy to enhance the effects of chemotherapy drugs. Apart from this, healthy stem cells are removed from the patient’s body through bone marrow transplant. They are then replaced by the unhealthy cells destroyed in chemotherapy.