LACK OF EFFECT OF INTERFERON-ALPHA THERAP Y IN A PATIENT WITH PRIMARYAMYLOIDOSIS

The therapy of primary amyloidosis is still unsatisfactory. The respon se rate after cytostatics, dimethylsulphoxide, colchicin and vitamin E is usually low. None of these treatment modalities prolongs significa ntly the survival in the majority of treated patients. The success of interferon alpha in the maintenance therapy of follicular non-Hodgkin' s lymphoma and in the remission of multiple myeloma, as well as succes sful treatment of primary cryoglobulinemia, brought us to the idea to test interferon alfa in the therapy of primary amyloidosis. Interferon alpha-2b was administered to a patient with three years history of pr imary amyloidosis. Interferon alpha was used in the dose of 3 x 10(6) i. V, daily for a treatment period of 10 weeks. The evaluation of the response was based on the weekly assessment of the light chain lambda concentration in the morning spot of urine. No significant decrease of the light chain concentration during the course of the therapy was ob served. The administration of interferon alpha-2b was interrupted in t he 10th week of the therapy because of manic psychosis. The question i s, whether a higher dose than 3 x 10(6) IU daily would be able to decr ease the light chain production, or if this disease is resistant to in terferon alpha therapy. Because of the low incidence of primary amyloi dosis, the experiences will be collected on the base of small groups o f case reports.