South Middlesex Times

Pfizer has granted $80,000 to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) for an Amyloidosis Fellowship at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), part of RWJBarnabas Health. Sabahat Bokhari, a specialist in amyloidosis, will lead the fellowship. Bokhari directs the Cardiac Amyloidosis and Cardiomyopathy Center at RWJUH and RWJMS and is a professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Disease and Hypertension.

Amyloidosis involves abnormal protein accumulation in organs such as the heart, kidneys, nerves, or musculoskeletal system. It often goes undiagnosed due to subtle symptoms and multiple organ involvement. In the U.S., two common types are light chain (AL) and transthyretin (ATTR). If untreated when affecting the heart, AL amyloidosis patients have an average life expectancy of six months; ATTR amyloidosis patients have 2.6 to 4.8 years.

Bokhari emphasized that "the condition is significantly underdiagnosed." He noted that 25% of cardiac patients over 80 might have amyloidosis; 13% with heart failure have amyloid proteins present; and 3.5% of African Americans are genetically predisposed to carry a marker for it.

Bokhari aims to raise awareness among medical professionals to ensure early diagnosis since untreated cases can be fatal within months or years depending on the type. He stated, “The work at RWJMS and RWJUH to support the center...has been tremendous,” adding that "the Pfizer fellowship grant will enable us to train cardiologists in amyloidosis."

Partho P. Sengupta, Henry Rutgers professor of Cardiology at RWJMS and chief of cardiovascular medicine at RWJUH remarked on Bokhari's contributions: “We are fortunate to have world-renowned faculty like Dr. Sabahat Bokhari join and lead our programs.” Sengupta highlighted that this grant underscores Bokhari's international reputation.

Bokhari developed a noninvasive imaging method using technetium-pyrophosphate for evaluating cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis, recommended by leading cardiology organizations worldwide.

For further details visit the Cardiac Amyloidosis and Cardiomyopathy Center.