Primary amyloidosis is a disease in which abnormal amyloid proteins accumulate in various tissues and organs throughout the body. Depending upon where the amyloids deposit, some people may need medication to treat the effects of this disorder. Everyone who suffers with primary amyloidosis will need medication to treat the disease itself. Most treatments focus on treating the symptoms of the disease; a few offer some chance of a cure.
Prednisone
Prednisone is a synthetic hormone that lowers the number of plasma cells in primary amyloidosis. If there are fewer plasma cells, then there will be less amyloid accumulating throughout the body. Sometimes, physicians use dexamethasone instead of prednisone. It is also a synthetic hormone and may have a better result in some people.
Melphalan
Melphalan is a chemotherapeutic medication that interferes with the RNA and DNA of tumor cells. People with primary amyloidosis may have high doses of melphalan and then have a stem cell transplant, often using cells collected from the patient herself before chemotherapy. After chemotherapy the cells help the bone marrow become healthy. Melphalan along with a stem cell transplant can even be a cure for some people.
Fentanyl
Fentanyl is an analgesic, or pain reliever. It is an opioid medication that is approximately 100 times as powerful as morphine, another opioid. Fentanyl is called an opioid because it stimulates opioid receptors in the tissues, brain and spinal cord, telling them to release substances to decrease pain. Fentanyl treats the pain associated with amyloidosis, but it doesn't treat the disease directly.
References
- "Adams & Victor's Principles of Neurology"; Allan Ropper, M.D., Martin Samuels, M.D.; 2009
- "Basic & Clinical Pharmacology"; Bertram Katzung, M.D., Ph.D., Susan Masters, Ph.D., Anthony Trevor, Ph.D.; 2009
- "Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics"; Laurence Brunton, Ph.D.; 2006
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Amyloidosis
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