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Doctors will sometimes refer to certain treatments as supportive therapy or
supportive care
supportive care:
Care given to improve the quality of life, or comfort, of a person with a chronic illness. Supportive care treats the symptoms rather than the underlying cause of a disease. The goal is to help the patient feel better. Patients with low blood counts may be given blood…
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My odyssey with
bone marrow failure
bone marrow failure:
A condition that occurs when the bone marrow stops making enough healthy blood cells. The most common of these rare diseases are aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). Bone marrow failure can be acquired (begin any time in life) or can be…
diseases began on Mother’s Day,…
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Because you have
aplastic anemia
aplastic anemia:
(ay-PLASS-tik uh-NEE_mee-uh) A rare and serious condition in which the bone marrow fails to make enough blood cells - red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The term aplastic is a Greek word meaning not to form. Anemia is a condition that happens when red blood cell count is low. Most…
, everyday events can be more risky for…
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The
Aplastic Anemia
Aplastic Anemia:
(ay-PLASS-tik uh-NEE_mee-uh) A rare and serious condition in which the bone marrow fails to make enough blood cells - red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The term aplastic is a Greek word meaning not to form. Anemia is a condition that happens when red blood cell count is low. Most…
& MDS International Foundation focuses much of…
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This article was originally published in the MDS Beacon by David Steensma, MD, FACP. Dr. Steensma is a physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His primary area of research focuses on myelodysplastic syndromes and related conditions. Dr. Steensma also serves as a member of the AA…
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What is myelofibrosis?
Researchers believe that myelofibrosis is caused by abnormal
stem cells
stem cells:
Cells in the body that develop into other cells. There are two main sources of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells come from human embryos and are used in medical research. Adult stem cells in the body repair and maintain the organ or tissue in which they are found. Blood-forming (…
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This article describes some of the most common types of research articles published in medical journals. Medical journals publish many types of articles not discussed here. A comprehensive list is available from the National Library of Medicine.
Research articles can be primary or secondary. A primary research article describes the design, methods, and results of a study. A secondary research…
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When the
bone marrow
bone marrow:
The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones. Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow.
fails to keep up with the body's needs and doesn't produce enough red cells, white cells or platelets, or when those blood cells that are produced are damaged or defective, you have
bone marrow failure
bone marrow failure:
A condition that occurs when the…
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One important test your doctor will ask you to get is a complete blood count, or CBC for short. The CBC measures the number of each blood cell type in your blood sample. Below are the types of information the CBC measures.
Red blood cell count (RBC) measures the actual number of red blood cells in a given volume of blood. A low count is called
anemia…
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The medical care we enjoy today is built upon decades of effort by physicians, researchers, and other medical professionals investigating the causes of, and potential treatments for disease. Insights provided by past and current medical research promise to lessen the impact of
aplastic anemia
aplastic anemia:
(ay-PLASS-tik uh-NEE_mee-uh) A rare and serious condition in which the…
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Cyclosporine
Cyclosporine:
Cyclosporine is used along with antithymocyte globulin (ATG), another immunosuppressant, for treating aplastic anemia and some other forms of bone marrow failure.
is an immunosuppressive drug that works by preventing T-lymphocytes from becoming active. Once the T-lymphocytes are turned off, they stop attacking
stem cells
stem cells:
Cells in the…
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PNH is considered a chronic disease meaning that it lasts a long time. The only potential cure is a
bone marrow transplant (BMT)
bone marrow transplant (BMT):
A procedure where bone marrow stem cells are collected from marrow inside the donor's hipbone and given to the patient through an intravenous (IV) line. In time, donated stem cells start making new, healthy blood cells.
. However…
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(excerpted from Thomas’ Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, 5th Edition)
The first interface many patients have with an HCT transplant program occurs at the time they come for a second opinion. Often patients make a consultation appointment to compare a particular program with other centers they are considering. These patients meet with a transplant physician to review their options, a…
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The parts of blood used in a transfusion depend on why the patient needs the transfusion. The two types of transfusion typically used for
bone marrow failure
bone marrow failure:
A condition that occurs when the bone marrow stops making enough healthy blood cells. The most common of these rare diseases are aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and paroxysmal nocturnal…
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My husband Rick and I knew Jake was not feeling well. He kept denying it and saying he was fine. A bloody nose scared me, and then I remembered how my brother-in-law had them as a child and thought it was hereditary. Then his high school said he had another. He began to ask us if he looked pale. We said that he did. He also was coughing and seemed lethargic. We encouraged him to go to…
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What are Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms or MPNs?
In myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), the
bone marrow
bone marrow:
The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones. Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow.
makes too many of one or more types of blood cells. Neoplasms usually get worse over time as the number of extra blood cells increases.
The six different types of MPN are…
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Negative side effects of blood transfusion therapy are uncommon. Blood banks, hospitals, and health-care providers take many precautions to minimize risks before each blood transfusion.
Blood banks test each unit of blood to find out its ABO type and Rh status. In the United States, after a hospital laboratory receives a blood unit from the blood bank, the laboratory tests the unit again.…
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What is Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia or CMML?
Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) starts in the
bone marrow
bone marrow:
The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones. Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow.
and then moves to the blood. It happens when monocytes in the bone marrow begin to grow out of control, filling the bone marrow and preventing other blood cells from growing…
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Blood is made of blood cells floating in
plasma
plasma:
The fluid part of the blood. Plasma is mostly made of water with chemicals in it. These chemicals include proteins, hormones, minerals, and vitamins.
. The plasma is mostly made of water with chemicals in it. These chemicals include proteins, hormones, minerals and vitamins.
There are three basic types of blood cells. These…
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What is Pure Red Cell Aplasia or PRCA?
There are three types of PRCA:
Acquired Pure Red Cell Aplasia: This is a very rare condition and usually affects adults. It is characterized by an absence of red cell precursors (reticulocytes) in the marrow and a low
red blood cell
red blood cell:
The most numerous type of blood cell in healthy people. Red blood cells…
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