Study on the relationship between senile systemic amyloidosis and sudden death

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K09204
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Legal medicine
• Research Institution: Shinshu University
• Principal Investigator: Shiozaki Tetsuya 信州大学, 医学部, 助教(特定雇用) (00722018)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 佐藤 紀子 信州大学, 学術研究院医学系, 助手 (00649254) ; 布谷 美弥 信州大学, 医学部, 特任助教 (10759921) ; 浅村 英樹 信州大学, 学術研究院医学系, 教授 (80324250)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: アミロイドーシス / 野生型トランスサイレチン / 突然死

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Wild-type ATTR amyloidosis (ATTR-wt) is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid in the heart, leading to fatal heart failure and arrhythmia. In this study, we investigated the amyloid deposits in the heart from 556 forensic autopsy cases over 60 years of age. The prevalence of ATTR-wt was 5.6% (32 of the 556), with the prevalence increasing as a function of age. We identified an ATTR-wt-specific morbidity rate of 12.3% for patients over 80 years of age, while the prevalence among individuals over 90 years of age was 34.9%. In 29 of the 32 cases found to be ATTR-wt positive, an obvious extraneous cause of death was identified and included burning, drowning, hypothermia, suicide, and traffic accident. On the other hand, heart failure due to ATTR-wt was confirmed as the cause of death in 3 of the 32 cases. It is suggested that ATTR-wt may be a risk factor for unexpected death among elderly individuals.

Free Research Field

法医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

野生型ATTRアミロイドーシス（ATTR-wt)は、加齢を原因として心臓や肺臓を中心とした諸臓器にアミロイドが沈着することで心不全や不整脈を引き起こすとされる。本研究では、60歳以上の日本人5.6％がATTR-wtに罹患し、さらに高齢者突然死の危険因子となることを報告した。高齢化社会を迎える日本にとって、本疾病の罹患頻度と高齢者突然死の関係性を明らかにすることは、今後の臨床診断や死因究明に貢献され、本研究の与える社会的意義は大きいものと考慮される。