Senile amyloidosis: a protean manifestation of the aging process.

Senile amyloidosis represents a group of diseases which, while sharing features common to other forms of amyloidosis, are unique and differ from one another in their morphology, biochemical behaviour, protein components, and organ distribution. Although the exact prevalence of various forms of this group of amyloidosis is not yet known, it appears that some forms are extremely common in elderly patients and in many patients may have no clinical significance.