Ankylosing spondylitis – a rare cause of AA amyloidosis with renal and cardiovascular alterations

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Abstract. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a relatively rare chronic inflammatory condition that affects axial spine and extraarticular structures – the eyes, the skin, the lung, the kidney, etc. AS is more common in males and the majority of patients are HLAB27 positive. The most common clinical manifestations of AS are chronic persistent pain and stiffness in the axial spine and sacroiliac joints and enthesitis. The chronic inflammation of articular and periarticular structures can lead to the development of secondary (AA) amyloidosis with deposition of amyloid beta-fibrils in parenchymal organs – the kidney, the heart, the skin and in periarticular spaces. We present a 78-year-old male patient with more than 30 years history of ankylosing spondylitis and systemic (AA) amyloidosis.