“Amyloid” — Historical Aspects

Abstract

General agreement prevails today on the contents of the term “amyloid”. It refers to “a condition associated with a number of inherited and inflammatory disorders in which extracellular deposits of fibrillar proteins are responsible for tissue damage and functional compromise”, as defined in the textbook of pathology [1]. One and half centuries ago, in contrast, the nature of amyloid was the very target of an academic dispute among the leading scientists, European at those days. Curiously, the term “amyloid” has prevailed although in the course of time the concept of amyloid has nearly turned upside down.