Amyloid elastosis. A new cutaneous and systemic pattern of amyloidosis.

A patient with papulonodular cutaneous disease was studied until his death from progressive systemic disease. The elastic fibers in the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and serosae were coated with an amyloid-staining material in a unique pattern, as demonstrated by special stains and electron microscopy. Visceral and cutaneous blood vessels from autopsy tissue also showed amyloidosis, particularly in relation to the elastic fibers. These findings seem to represent a unique syndrome of amyloid disease.