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Section: Overview
Kidney amyloidosis is a rare disorder of protein metabolism in which abnormal deposits of protein called amyloid is deposited in the kidneys. The cause of kidney amyloidosis remains poorly understood. It is a hereditary condition in certain breeds of cat. It also may occur in other breeds or mixed breeds as a reaction to chronic infections and inflammatory conditions.Most cats with kidney amyloidosis are old at the time of diagnosis (7 years in cats). The disease can occur in any age or breed. It is a hereditary disorder in Abyssinian cats. There is a definite female predilection in Abyssinian cats (females are 1.6 times as likely to be affected compared to males).Amyloid deposits in the kidney lead to excessive protein loss in the urine and eventual chronic kidney failure. Amyloid may also be deposited in other organs like the liver, spleen and pancreas, causing them to malfunction as well.
Proteinuria is the presence of excessive protein in the urine, released from the glomerulus, the filtering unit of the kidney. Normal urine contains only small amounts of protein.
Nephrotic syndrome is characterized by the combination of protein in the urine, low protein level in the blood, high cholesterol and abnormal fluid accumulation in any part of the body (edema). Dogs are...
The kidneys consist of many thousand microscopic filtering units called glomeruli that filter water and small substances from the bloodstream. Glomerulonephritis is inflammation of these microscopic filtering...
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