Peer-reviewed research
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Potential Early, Red-Flag Sign of Amyloidosis
JP Donnelly et al., The Journal of Hand Surgery (American Volume), 2019 · DOI 10.1016/j.jhsa.2019.06.016
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A review by cardiologists and a hand surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic on how amyloid deposits cause carpal tunnel syndrome and when that finding should prompt a search for systemic amyloidosis. It proposes a detection algorithm for patients having carpal tunnel release.
- How much weight it carries
- Peer-reviewed and written by specialists in both cardiology and hand surgery. It is a review with a proposed algorithm, not a trial, so its recommendations are expert opinion. The 10.2 percent figure it cites comes from one earlier study of surgical patients, not from the general population.
Facts taken from this source
- In patients having surgery for idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome, a recent study found amyloidosis on tenosynovial biopsy in 10.2 percent of men over 50 and women over 60, and all of those positive patients had bilateral symptoms.
“amyloidosis by tenosynovial biopsy in 10.2% of men older than 50 years and women older than 60 years; all positive patients had bilateral symptoms” (Abstract)
- Carpal tunnel syndrome can be caused by the deposition of misfolded amyloid proteins, and it is often an early sign of systemic amyloidosis.
“Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) can be caused by the deposition and accumulation of misfolded proteins called amyloid and is often an early manifestation of systemic amyloidosis.” (Abstract)