Pervez Musharraf, the former president of Pakistan, passed away in Dubai after a prolonged illness at the Dubai American Hospital at the age of 79. He was suffering from rare disease called Amyloidosis and he has been taking a treatment since March 2016.

Amyloidosis is a rare disease that develops when an amyloid protein accumulates in tissues and organs. The organ's function is affected by the accumulation of amyloidosis. The heart, kidneys, liver, spleen, nervous system, and digestive tract are some of the organs that could be affected.  It can also lead to organ failure.

Symptoms:

Amyloidosis symptoms may not appear until much later in the disease's progression. Depending on which organs are affected, symptoms may change.

• Severe weakness/fatigue
• Difficulty in breathing
• Feeling of fullness
• Joint pain
• Low red blood cells (RBC's)
• Tingling and numbness in legs and feet
• Swelling of tongue
• Skin changes, such as thickening or easy bruising, and purplish patches around the eyes.

Types of Amyloidosis

Some of these types are life-threatening and others are less harmful. The most common types of Amyloidosis are:

• AL (Primary) Amyloidosis
• AA (Secondary) Amyloidosis
• Familial ATTR Amyloidosis
• Wild-Type (Senile) ATTR Amyloidosis

Diagnosis of Amyloidosis

Because the signs and symptoms of amyloidosis might resemble those of more common illnesses, it is usually overlooked.

• Blood and urine test for abnormal protein that shows amyloidosis
• Thyroid and kidney function test for people with specific symptoms.
• Biopsy that shows amyloid deposits is the best confirmation of amyloidosis.
• A tissue sample can be checked for signs of amyloidosis.

Treatments

Treatments depend on the type of amyloidosis you have:

• Chemotherapy
• Peripheral blood stem cell transplant
• Organ transplant
• Clinical trials
• A pacemaker