Interview with Jacek Grzybowski, head of the Cardiomyopathy Unit at the National Institute of Cardiology, on amyloidosis and the therapies available to treat the disease.
- Amyloidosis is a systemic disease that very often affects the heart of patients. It involves the deposition of abnormal protein (amyloid) between cells, causing thickening of the heart muscle walls, which can lead to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
- It is a very rare disease, diagnosed in about 50 patients in Poland, but it is possible that this number is much higher. Its first symptoms are cardiac complaints and reduced exercise capacity.
- The disease is very troublesome for patients, so there is a need for both symptomatic and causal treatment.
- There is one drug registered in Europe for amyloidosis, tafamidis, which inhibits the disease at an early stage by hindering the formation of amyloid particles. The therapy is still not reimbursed by the National Health Service, so patients have to rely on the manufacturers of the drug.
- Professor Grzybowski emphasises that awareness of amyloidosis also needs to be raised among doctors, who have often had no exposure to the disease.
Source: medexpress.co.uk
Meeting held as part of a campaign organised by the Institute for Patient Rights and Health Education and Pfizer.