amyloid

[ am-uh-loid ]

noun

1. Biochemistry. a waxy, translucent substance, composed primarily of protein fibers, that is deposited in various organs of animals in certain diseases.
2. a nonnitrogenous food consisting especially of starch.

adjective

1. Also am·y·loi·dal []. of, resembling, or containing amylum.

amyloid

/ ˈæmɪˌlɔɪd /

noun

1. pathol a complex protein resembling starch, deposited in tissues in some degenerative diseases
2. any substance resembling starch

adjective

1. starchlike

amyloid

/ ăm′ə-loid′ /

Noun

1. A hard waxy substance consisting of protein and polysaccharides that results from the degeneration of tissue and is deposited in organs or tissues of the body in various chronic diseases.

Adjective

1. Starchlike.

Word History and Origins

Origin of amyloid¹

First recorded in 1855–60; amyl- + -oid

Example Sentences

There’s no certainty as to why turmeric has this beneficial effect, but researchers believe it’s because of the plant’s anti-inflammatory properties, which help keep Alzheimer’s-causing amyloid plaques from building up between neurons.

From Popular-Science

Each of these cells has a Balbiani body, a large condensate of amyloid protein found in the oocytes of organisms ranging from spiders to humans.

From Quanta Magazine

When the oocyte starts to mature into an egg, those amyloid fibers dissolve and the Balbiani body disappears, explains Elvan Böke, a cell and developmental biologist at the Center for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona.

From Quanta Magazine

Böke is working to understand how these amyloid fibers assemble and dissolve, which could lead to new strategies for treating infertility or neurodegenerative diseases.

From Quanta Magazine

Aducanumab works by targeting so-called amyloid plaques, which are proteins that build up in the brain and are common among dementia patients.

From Fortune

Previous drugs targeting amyloid precursor protein, or APP, have failed.

From The Daily Beast

Here, the blockage of RNA prevents extra amyloid from being produced by targeting its precursor protein and making less of it.

From The Daily Beast

Beta amyloid, which OL-1 is meant to lower, was first implicated in the disease at its identification by Alois Alzheimer in 1906.

From The Daily Beast

Dominating the research field is a protein called beta amyloid, identified by Alois Alzheimer in 1906.

From The Daily Beast

Most researchers think the disease is caused by the build-up of beta amyloid.

From The Daily Beast

Amyloid, am′i-loid, n. a half-gelatinous substance like starch, found in some seeds.

From Project Gutenberg

Eberth35 maintains that in all cases the amyloid disturbance is seated in the connective tissue.

From Project Gutenberg

Amyloid degeneration represents no mere substitution, but an addition, since the affected tissue is increased in volume.

From Project Gutenberg

The waxy transformation of muscular fibre, however, does not present the reaction with iodine characteristic of amyloid substance.

From Project Gutenberg

To these may be added the fatty degenerations associated with amyloid and interstitial processes.

From Project Gutenberg