Contributor: Gordon K. Klintworth
The term amyloidosis refers to a group of disorders in which amyloid deposits extracellularly in different tissues. The causes of amyloidosis include multiple myeloma. Some forms of amyloidosis are restricted to specific tissues, such as the cornea, conjunctiva, eyelid, and vitreous. Other are associated with a widespread deposition of the amyloid. Vitreal amyloidosis [amyloidosis - vitreous] is sometimes the initial manifestation of sytemic amyloidosis (transthyretin amyloidosis) and can impair vision. Bilateral vitreous opacities or floaters occur in several types of familial amyloid polyneuropathy related to amino acid substitution in transthyretin. Vitreous amyloid is frequently mistaken for old hemorrhage.