natriuretic-peptide--brain and Polyneuropathies

In senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA), a common age-related amyloidosis, wild-type transthyretin accumulates in tissues, with a primary result being cardiac dysfunction. Here, we aimed to clarify the usefulness of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) as a prognostic marker of cardiac function in SSA and in familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP).. We studied 13 patients with severe SSA and 14 patients with FAP. SSA patients, but not FAP patients, demonstrated a significant correlation of log BNP with the echocardiographic diastolic marker E/e' ratio (r = 0.78, p < 0.01). SSA patients also showed significant correlations between log BNP and log C-reactive protein or log high-sensitive troponin T (r = 0.70, p < 0.01; r = 0.64, p < 0.05). FAP patients, however, had significant correlations between log BNP and left ventricular wall thickness (intraventricular septum thickness diastole and posterior wall thickness diastole) (r = 0.73, p < 0.01; r = 0.77, p < 0.01). The mean log BNP level in the follow-up period was significantly higher than that in the diagnostic period in SSA patients (2.65 ± 0.45 versus 2.36 ± 0.40, p < 0.01) but not in FAP patients (1.91 ± 0.56 versus 1.93 ± 0.45, p = 0.87). An especially notable phenomenon was the high plasma BNP level (≥180 pg/ml) in SSA patients.. Plasma BNP levels may be a useful prognostic marker of cardiac function in SSA.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Amyloidosis; C-Reactive Protein; Echocardiography; Female; Humans; Male; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; Polyneuropathies; Prealbumin; Troponin T