GASTROINTESTINAL AMYLOID DEPOSITS IN OLD-AGE - REPORT ON 110 CONSECUTIVE AUTOPSICAL PATIENTS AND 98 RETROSPECTIVE BIOPTIC SPECIMENS

The prevalence of gastrointestinal amyloid was determined in 110 conse cutive autopsy patients aged 85 years and older. Paraffin sections fro m the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum were stain ed with Congo red and inspected in polarized light. Amyloid was found in 38 patients (36%). Four patients had generalized amyloidosis and th e remaining 34 revealed more localized varieties of amyloid. Immunohis tochemical classification with a panel of antisera directed against fi ve major amyloid fibril proteins displayed at least four different typ es of amyloid. Twenty cases exhibited amyloid of transthyretin origin, five cases were of lambda light chain origin and one case was of amyl oid A-type. Thus far, unclassifiable amyloid deposits were found in 18 cases, 16 of which were strictly localized in subserosal veins. This consecutive autopsy series was compared with 98 randomly-selected biop tical gastrointestinal tissues with amyloid according to distribution pattern, sex, frequency of the various types of amyloid and associated diseases.