Amyloidosis and chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction.

A 39-year-old woman with multiple myeloma developed chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction associated with gastrointestinal amyloidosis. Motor abnormalities of the lower esophageal and anal sphincters correlated closely with amyloid infiltration in affected areas. Manometric abnormalities of esophageal and anal sphincter function may provide indirect evidence of amyloid deposition of gastrointestinal smooth muscle in an appropriate clinical setting.