It’s been nearly a month since the charity I lead, the New Zealand Amyloidosis Patients Association (NZAPA), held a conference for patients and caregivers. The two-day event was made possible by the active participation of those living with various types of amyloidosis, including hereditary ATTR (hATTR), wild-type, and AL…

A specialized MRI technique known as the variable echo time (vTE) sequence may help identify structural changes in nerves linked to damage in individuals with familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), according to a recent study. Additionally, a parameter of the vTE MRI sequence called short T2-weighted imaging was identified as…

The European Commission has expanded the indication of Amvuttra (vutrisiran) to include adults with ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, or heart damage (ATTR-CM), regardless of whether they carry disease-causing mutations. “Estimates show approximately 100,000 people are affected by ATTR amyloidosis across Europe, most with cardiomyopathy, so this approval marks a…

Researchers have developed a point-of-care diagnostic device to quickly detect a genetic mutation known to cause hereditary ATTR amyloidosis, a group of diseases that includes familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), in a blood sample. In a study involving six people, the device was used to identify V142I, a mutation…

A higher proportion of fat in the tissue that surrounds peripheral nerves, as assessed with a noninvasive MRI scan, may be a new diagnostic biomarker of familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), a study showed. This measure, called intraepineurial fat fraction (ieFF), may indicate nerve fiber replacement by fat tissue and subsequent…