Hidden amyloidoses.

The pathogenesis as well as the genetic disposition to develop clinical symptoms in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (e.g. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy) relate these diseases to classical noninfectious amyloidoses (familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy as an example) and to Alzheimer's disease. This is not obvious to the nonexpert at first glance. This communication tries to elucidate this association, to reveal which immunochemical techniques have contributed their share.