%0 Case Reports
%T Mechanism of constipation in familial amyloid polyneuropathy: a case report.
%A Ito T
%A Sakakibara R
%A Ito S
%A Uchiyama T
%A Liu Z
%A Yamamoto T
%A Yamaguchi T
%A Odaka T
%A Higashi M
%A Hattori T
%J Intern Med
%V 45
%N 20
%D 2006
%M 17106165
%F 1.282
%R 10.2169/internalmedicine.45.1570
%X Previously no functional study has been available for the mechanism of constipation in familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP). We performed a gut function test in a 78-year-old woman with transthyretin-type FAP who had severe constipation. The gut function test showed a prolonged colonic transit time, a low anal pressure at rest and upon squeezing, loss of the spontaneous phasic rectal contractions, and weak abdominal strain. All these abnormalities suggested a peripheral autonomic dysfunction, corresponding to the enteric neuropathy that was confirmed upon autopsy.