Carpal tunnel biopsy may fall short for spotting heart amyloidosis

Collecting and analyzing wrist tissue for the presence of hallmark toxic protein clumps may not be sufficient as a stand-alone strategy for early detection of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CM) in African Americans undergoing surgery to ease carpal tunnel syndrome.

That’s according to a study that found no such clumps in carpal tunnel biopsy samples obtained from African Americans with carpal tunnel syndrome — which is increasingly recognized as an early marker of transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR).