Key Information
Wild-type ATTR is also referred to as ATTRwt. It is not hereditary. This disease used to be called SSA, which stood for Senile Systemic Amyloidosis, which is now an outdated term. Deposits of TTR amyloid can be found throughout the body, so it is a systemic amyloidosis disease, with significant clinical involvement most commonly found in the heart. Wild-type ATTR is also common in carpal tunnel, which can be the first (early) symptom.
This is a disease that is almost exclusively a disease of men, originally reported in those age of 80 and over. As research continues, wild-type ATTR has been increasingly found in individuals in their early 60s. It is often overlooked as an amyloidosis disease because so many people experience heart problems in their later years.
It is called wild-type ATTR because the misfolding and depositing amyloid protein comes from transthyretin protein without a genetic mutation, referred to as "wild-type" because it is the natural form of this protein. These deposits can interfere with the heart's normal function, causing heart rhythm problems and heart failure.