Catching Amyloidosis?

In all of my conversations with doctors throughout my treatment, I heard that the most asked question from amyloidosis patients is: How did I get this disease? Where did it come from? (Actually, that's two questions, but you get my point).

The standard response (for AL patients) usually is, "We don't know, but we don't believe that it's contagious". And they advise not worrying about it, because, you'll probably never know.

There really has been a void into research determining how people get this thing. Usually the recent discoveries about amyloidosis have been focused on early diagnosis and treatment. So when I saw this article on Reuters this evening it got my attention.

Geese force-fed and then slaughtered for their livers may get their final revenge on people who favor the delicacy known as foie gras: It may transmit a little-known disease known as amyloidosis, researchers reported on Monday...

That would suggest that amyloidosis can be transmitted via food in a way akin to brain diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD, which can cause a rare version of mad cow disease in some people who eat affected meat products or brains.

I've heard of many theories as to how this disease gets started. Most revolve around ingesting certain types of metals, or inhaling any types of nasty chemicals. But, this is the first time I've read that it is possible to contract amyloidosis from another living being. Of course, it's the result of eating another living being, but that's still significant news. Perhaps this is an awful side effect to the way livestock are fed, kept and slaughtered, and the lack of oversight in how healthy these animals are. Maybe that's why we are now seeing a significant increase in new cases?

Now I'm thinking that perhaps that sheep head I ate in Iceland a few years ago at a Viking festival probably wasn't a good idea after all...