Diagnosis of amyloidosis.

Introduction. - The diagnosis of amyloidosis is a four-step strategy requir ing: 1) a high degree of suspicion, as the clinical presentation of the dis ease is very polymorphous; 2) the biochemical nature of the disease; 3) the evaluation of the disease spread and 4) how it evolves. Exegesis. - Simple and noninvasive biopsies usually make it possible to dia gnose amyloidosis. Available treatments of generalized amyloidosis require an exact characterization of the nature of amyloid deposits, which is based on the clinical context, immunohistochemical analysis of amyloid deposits, and genetic testing. Conclusion. - Management of amyloidosis should be improved by better charac terization of amyloid deposits. This would result in epidemiological data w hich are currently lacking. (C) 2000 E'ditions scientifiques et medicales E lsevier SAS.