Renal amyloidosis is a protein-losing kidney disease in which insoluble protein fibrils build up outside cells in the kidney, most often in the glomeruli. In dogs the deposits are almost always reactive (AA) amyloid formed from serum amyloid A, an acute-phase protein, so the disease usually follows months of inflammation somewhere else in the body. It matters because it is progressive and usually fatal, and dogs are often presented late, already azotemic.
Key facts
Glomerular disease (amyloidosis) at a glance- Species and system: dogs (also cats, notably Abyssinians); urinary system, with possible deposits in liver, spleen and other organs.
- Cause: AA amyloid from chronically raised serum amyloid A. Reactive in most dogs; familial in the Chinese Shar-Pei, linked to Shar-Pei autoinflammatory disease (Shar-Pei fever).
- Classic presentation: middle-aged to older dog (younger in Shar-Peis) with weight loss, PU/PD, vomiting, marked proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia, often already azotemic.
- How common: 15.2% of 501 North American dogs biopsied for suspected glomerular disease had amyloidosis.
- Definitive test: renal biopsy; Congo red-positive deposits with apple-green birefringence under polarized light.
- Zoonotic or reportable: neither.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention and control
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 4 tables, 3 figures, 3 self-test questions and 19 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
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