Biography
Biography: Chakra P Chaulagain
Abstract
Systemic AL amyloidosis (AL) is a multisystem disease characterized by organ damage due to monoclonal free light chains produced in the bone marrow by a neoplastic clone of plasma cells. The clone can be targeted by various treatments with the goal of curbing the production of the organ toxic light chains and thereby stopping and possibly reversing the organ damage present at the time of diagnosis. AL amyloidosis remains an incurable disease despite treatment options that include steroids, cytotoxic chemotherapy, risk-adapted melphalan and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs. Newer and effective treatment approaches that can rapidly reverse the organ damage are urgently needed. Monoclonal antibodies targeting the plasma cells may become available in future for management of this disease. An updates for the practicing clinicians as well as the areas of future research will be reviewed in this presentation.