Pfizer has awarded $80,000 to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) to fund an Amyloidosis Fellowship at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health facility.
Amyloidosis expert Sabahat Bokhari directs the Cardiac Amyloidosis and Cardiomyopathy Center at RWJUH and RWJMS and is professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Disease and Hypertension and program director of the medical school’s Advanced Cardiac Imaging Fellowship Program. A professor of medicine, Bokhari will direct the Rutgers RWJMS Amyloidosis Fellowship.
Amyloidosis is a condition caused by an abnormal protein that accumulates in organs such as the heart, kidneys, nerves or musculoskeletal system. It is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed because of its subtle symptoms and multiple organ involvement. There are two common types of amyloidosis in the United States, light chain (AL) and transthyretin (ATTR). The differences between the two are the severity and potential life expectancies of patients if the condition has reached the heart and is not identified and treated. Without proper care the average life expectancies for AL amyloidosis and ATTR amyloidosis patients are 6 months and 2.6 to 4.8 years, respectively. To read the full story.