- Transthyretin cardiac amyloidopathy (ATTR-CM) is a rare but severe and progressive heart condition where sticky, toxic proteins build up in the heart muscle and cause heart failure.
- Current treatments can relieve the symptoms but cannot cure the disorder.
- Now, in an unprecedented finding, scientists have reported that three patients have spontaneously recovered from the condition.
- They believe this finding may lead to new treatments and possibly even a cure.
Although rare, with around
As well as heart failure, the condition, which is more common in men over the age of 60, can cause irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation) and other symptoms, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Around half of those diagnosed with ATTR-CM die within four years of diagnosis. Early diagnosis and treatment may slow the progression of the disease, and people with the condition are treated to relieve the symptoms of heart failure and arrhythmias and to slow the buildup of TTR.
However, as yet, no therapy has been found that can reverse the condition.
Now, researchers led by scientists from University College London have, for the first time, reported the spontaneous recovery of 3 patients with ATTR-CM. They believe that the recovery may have been due to an immune response, suggesting that antibody treatments could be…
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