| amyloid protein saa | A serum protein believed to be a circulating precursor to amyloid protein aa. It is present in low concentrations in normal sera, but found in much higher concentrations in sera of older persons and in patients with amyloidosis or with diseases known to predispose to amyloidosis. Very high levels of this protein have been reported during acute inflammatory episodes. Antisera to amyloid protein aa cross-react with protein saa. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| amyloid tumour | A localised form of amyloidosis in which amyloid occurs as masses or nodules beneath the skin or mucous membranes, e.g., in the larynx. Synonym: amyloid tumour, focal amyloidosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| beta-amyloid | <protein> The protein which forms thick deposits, or plaques, in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, a disease where memory skills gradually deteriorate with age. (13 Nov 1997) |
| cerebral amyloid angiopathy | <pathology> A condition where there is a deposition of amyloid (insoluble protein) in the walls of the arteries which supply the brain. This results in an increased risk of dementia and-or intracerebral haemorrhage. Cerebral amyloidosis or cerebral amyloid angiopathy, is a complication of primary amyloidosis. Origin: Gr. Pathos = disease (27 Sep 1997) |
| serum amyloid | In secondary amyloidosis the fibrils deposited in tissues are unrelated to immunoglobulin light chains (in contrast to the situation in primary amyloidosis) and are made of amyloid A protein (AA protein). This is derived from serum amyloid A (SAA) that is the apolipoprotein of a high density lipoprotein and an acute phase protein. Partial proteolysis converts SAA into the pleated sheet configuration of the amyloid fibrils. Amyloid P protein is also found as a minor component of the fibrils (in both primary and secondary amyloidosis) and is derived from serum amyloid P that has similarity to C-reactive protein. The physiological role remains obscure. (18 Nov 1997) |
| serum amyloid P component | Precursor of amyloid component P, found in basement membrane. Member of the pentraxin family. See: serum amyloid. (18 Nov 1997) |
| islet amyloid peptide | <hormone, protein> Peptide of 37 amino acids that selectively inhibits insulin stimulated glucose uptake in muscle. Structurally related to calcitonin gene-related peptide. (15 Oct 1997) |
| familial amyloid neuropathy | <neurology> A disorder in which various peripheral nerves are infiltrated with amyloid and their functions disturbed, an abnormal prealbumin is also formed and is present in the blood; characteristically, it begins during mid-life and is found largely in persons of Portuguese descent. Other rare clinical types occur. Inheritance: autosomal dominant. Synonym: familial amyloidosis, hereditary amyloidosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adder's-tongue | <botany> A genus of ferns (Ophioglossum), whose seeds are produced on a spike resembling a serpent's tongue. The yellow dogtooth violet. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| anti-black-tongue factor | A precursor of NAD, that is a product of the oxidation of nicotine. (18 Nov 1997) |
| baked tongue | The dry blackish tongue noted when patients with typhoid fever or other disorders are allowed to become dehydrated. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bald tongue | An erythematous, edematous, and painful tongue which appears smooth due to loss of the filiform and sometimes the fungiform papillae secondary to certain nutritional deficiencies, especially B-vitamin deficencies, as seen in pellagra, thiamin deficiency, and disorders such as pernicious anaemia (Hunter's or Moeller's glossitis). Synonym: bald tongue. (05 Mar 2000) |
| base of tongue | The posterior attached portion of the tongue. Synonym: radix linguae, base of tongue. (05 Mar 2000) |
| beet-tongue | Sometimes used of the tongue in pellagra, where intense erythema appears, first at the tip, then along the edges, and finally over the dorsum; there may be pain and increased elevation; the shiny appearance results from oedema, not atrophy, except in chronic pellagra. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bifid tongue | A structural defect of the tongue in which the extremity is divided longitudinally for a greater or lesser distance. See: diglossia. Synonym: cleft tongue. (05 Mar 2000) |