Striking cholestatic liver disease: a distinct manifestation of advanced primary amyloidosis

In patients with systemic amyloidosis, amyloid fibrils are typically deposited in numerous organs, including the kidneys, heart, and liver. Although amyloid deposition in the liver is common in patients with systemic amyloidosis, clinical liver disease is relatively rare. The patient described here had cholestatic liver disease as the primary manifestation of primary systemic amyloidosis. Review of the literature suggests that prominent liver disease with cholestasis is unusual but probably underreported in patients with amyloidosis and appears to be restricted to patients with the primary form of amyloidosis. Nonetheless, cholestatic hepatic amyloidosis is characterized by distinct clinical, laboratory, and pathologic features; recognition of this process is critical because it identifies patients with widespread organ involvement and portends a poor prognosis.