[Macroglossia as the initial symptom of amyloidosis].

Abstract

Amyloidosis is a term that describes a heterogeneous group of disorders in which various tissues contain the characteristic insoluble fibrillar protein known as amyloid. A number of different forms of presentation have been described and include senile, familial or hereditary, systemic, localized, secondary and primary forms. We now report our management of a 79-year old woman who suffered from primary A-lambda-light chain amyloidosis. Amyloid changes first presented in the tissues of the tongue and floor of mouth and were seen clinically as a macroglossia. Further investigation led to a primary diagnosis of multiple myeloma IIa, as categorized by Durie and Salmon. Several cases have been reported to date describing secondary development of macroglossia due to long-term known and treated multiple myeloma. However, there has been only one report of macroglossia as a primary finding leading to the diagnosis of multiple myeloma.

• Authors: D J Arweiler, K Jahnke
• Journal: HNO (HNO) Vol. 43 Issue 5 Pg. 318-20 (May 1995) ISSN: 0017-6192 [Print] Germany
• Vernacular Title: Makroglossie als Erstsymptom einer Amyloidose.
• PMID: 7607918 (Publication Type: Case Reports, English Abstract, Journal Article)

Topics

• Aged
• Amyloidosis (complications, diagnosis)
• Female
• Glossectomy
• Humans
• Macroglossia (etiology, surgery)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Mouth Floor (pathology)
• Multiple Myeloma (complications, diagnosis)
• Tongue (pathology)