**Author Listing - Lead/ Submitting Author (we will be communicating with this individual): Name, Institution, City and State where the work was done. Co-authors will be added in a separate section.**
Dr. Shoujit Banerjee MD, University of California Irvine, Orange, CA

**Main Body of the Abstract**
Background: Amyloidosis often results in cardiomyopathy. With gastrointestinal involvement, the disease burden rises. This study probes the impact of amyloidosis on caregiver burden and focuses on the role of gut involvement.

Methods: 12 caregivers of cardiac amyloidosis patients (11 ATTR, 1 AL) from a tertiary program were assessed using three validated instruments: the Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale and the Oberst Caregiving Demand and Difficulty sub-scales. Gastrointestinal amyloid was identified via Congo red staining on biopsy samples in a subset of these patients.

Results: The average age of caregivers was 67.9 years. 50% were employed, and 75% were married. The average duration of caregiving was 16.5 months. Using the Bakas scale, findings showed reduced social activity, decreased energy, and compromised stress tolerance. The Oberst Difficulty scale indicated 67% faced increased chores, while the Oberst Demand scale highlighted 75% with greater transportation needs. A majority of caregivers monitored symptoms and provided emotional support. While PYP Grade on pyrophosphate scintigraphy was not linked to caregiver strain, the presence of gastrointestinal amyloidosis was. A trend also suggested that extended caregiving duration correlated with a heightened burden [Figure 1].

Conclusion: Cardiac amyloidosis poses varied challenges for caregivers, from logistical hurdles to emotional stresses. Notably, there appears to be a correlation between increased gastrointestinal involvement, length of care, and caregiver burden severity.  Given the complexity of amyloidosis, caregiver support is vital. Furthermore, early screening and detection of gastrointestinal disease can offer relief to both patients and caregivers.



The role of gastrointestinal involvement as a predictor of caregiver burden severity in cardiac amyloidosis PA105 (#546)

We invite you to attend the XIX International Symposium on Amyloidosis to be held in Rochester, MN.

This symposium is organized as a hybrid meeting (with the focus on in-person) held from Sunday, May 26 through Thursday, May 30, 2024.

Together with the ISA Board and members of Mayo Clinic, a very attractive scientific hybrid program is being planned. The program will cover a variety of types of systemic amyloidosis: ATTR (hereditary and wild-type), AL (light-chain), AA and less frequent forms. There will be key lectures, specific symposia including those company sponsored, oral presentations and poster sessions of accepted abstracts.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This program will provide a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art education in systemic amyloidosis: basic science, pathophysiology, diagnosis, current and emerging treatments. Scientific presentations will include competitive oral and poster abstracts. The rapid evolution of scientific discovery and expanding treatment options has created tremendous interest in the field and this meeting will fill and important gap in educating scientists and clinicians.