(Verbatim from the application): If factors related to access to care are not considered, the increased mortality from cardiovascular disease in African-Americans relative to other groups is due to the increased frequency of some diseases, a qualitatively different cardiac response to disorders affecting all ethnic groups and a relatively poor response to treatment of congestive heart failure. An undiagnosed, coexistent, relatively prevalent, treatment-resistant cardiomyopathy is a possible partial explanation. Late onset amyloidotic cardiomyopathy is fourfold more common in African-Americans than Caucasians. It causes congestive heart failure and arrhythmias, however these features are relatively non-specific and the clinical diagnosis is not always obvious. Digoxin and calcium channel blockers are toxic in patients with amyloid, thus, treatment of concomitant heart disease of other etiologies may be compromised; moreover misdiagnosis of amyloid heart disease may result in possibly harmful therapy. Unrecognized amyloidosis, in individuals over age 60, could contribute to some of the refractoriness seen in studies of congestive heart failure and to the higher cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in African-Americans. Our proposal examines a genetically determined form of late-onset amyloidosis due to a substitution of ILE for VAL at position 122 in the serum protein transthyretin (TTR). Approximately 4% of African-Americans are heterozygous for the allele that has an absolute risk for anatomic amyloid deposition after age 60 resulting in 154,000 African-Americans with some degree of cardiac amyloidosis. In a collaborative effort with two studies of cardiovascular risk in the community (ARIC and CFIS), with a combined African-American cohort of 5200, we will test the hypothesis that heterozygosity for the amyloidogenic allele is associated with clinical evidence of cardiac amyloidosis and a related increase in mortality. We will also assess the role of the allele in clinical heart disease by determining its prevalence in a cohort of African-American veterans, over 60, who are recognized as having heart disease, although their providers have not considered amyloidosis as a specific diagnosis. We will characterize the natural history of late onset cardiac amyloidosis in African-Americans, define its role in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in this ethnic group and define guidelines for supportive treatment at present and specific therapy when available.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01AG019259-01
Application #
6321660
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-CCVS (01))
Program Officer
Premen, Andre J
Project Start
2001-07-01
Project End
2006-06-30
Budget Start
2001-07-01
Budget End
2002-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$563,946
Indirect Cost
Name
Scripps Research Institute
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
La Jolla
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92037
Buxbaum, Joel N; Ruberg, Frederick L (2017) Transthyretin V122I (pV142I)* cardiac amyloidosis: an age-dependent autosomal dominant cardiomyopathy too common to be overlooked as a cause of significant heart disease in elderly African Americans. Genet Med 19:733-742
Jacobson, Daniel R; Alexander, Alice A; Tagoe, Clement et al. (2016) The prevalence and distribution of the amyloidogenic transthyretin (TTR) V122I allele in Africa. Mol Genet Genomic Med 4:548-56
Kurian, Sunil M; Novais, Marta; Whisenant, Thomas et al. (2016) Peripheral Blood Cell Gene Expression Diagnostic for Identifying Symptomatic Transthyretin Amyloidosis Patients: Male and Female Specific Signatures. Theranostics 6:1792-809
Jacobson, Daniel R; Alexander, Alice A; Tagoe, Clement et al. (2015) Prevalence of the amyloidogenic transthyretin (TTR) V122I allele in 14?333 African-Americans. Amyloid 22:171-4
Quarta, C Cristina; Buxbaum, Joel N; Shah, Amil M et al. (2015) The amyloidogenic V122I transthyretin variant in elderly black Americans. N Engl J Med 372:21-9
Buxbaum, Joel N; Linke, Reinhold P (2012) A molecular history of the amyloidoses. J Mol Biol 421:142-59
Bourgault, Steve; Choi, Sungwook; Buxbaum, Joel N et al. (2011) Mechanisms of transthyretin cardiomyocyte toxicity inhibition by resveratrol analogs. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 410:707-13
Jacobson, Daniel; Tagoe, Clement; Schwartzbard, Arthur et al. (2011) Relation of clinical, echocardiographic and electrocardiographic features of cardiac amyloidosis to the presence of the transthyretin V122I allele in older African-American men. Am J Cardiol 108:440-4
Buxbaum, Joel; Alexander, Alice; Koziol, James et al. (2010) Significance of the amyloidogenic transthyretin Val 122 Ile allele in African Americans in the Arteriosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) and Cardiovascular Health (CHS) Studies. Am Heart J 159:864-70
Buxbaum, Joel; Anan, Intissar; Suhr, Ole (2010) Serum transthyretin levels in Swedish TTR V30M carriers. Amyloid 17:83-5

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