Q: 3) What causes aplastic anemia?

Aplastic anemia develops when damage occurs to a person&#39;s bone marrow which slows or shuts down the production of new blood cells. Bone marrow is a red, spongy material inside human bones that produces stem cells that give rise to other cells. Stem cells in the bone marrow produce blood cell. They are red cells, white cells, and platelets. In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow is described in medical terms as aplastic or hypoplastic, meaning that it&#39;s empty (aplastic) or contains very few blood cells (hypoplastic). Factors that can cause aplastic anemia: Radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Exposure to toxic chemicals. Use of certain drugs. Autoimmune disorders. A viral infection. Pregnancy, rarely.

Question 1

1) What is aplastic anemia?

Accepted Answer

Aplastic anemia is a condition that occurs when the body stops producing enough new blood cells which leave the patient feeling fatigued and with a higher risk of infections and uncontrolled bleeding. Aplastic anemia is a rare and serious condition and can develop at any age. It may occur suddenly or can occur slowly and get worse over a long period of time.

Question 2

2) What are the Symptoms?

Accepted Answer

Aplastic anemia symptoms may include:

Fatigue
Shortness of breath with exertion
Rapid or irregular heart rate
Pale skin
Frequent or prolonged infections
Unexplained or easy bruising
Nosebleeds and bleeding gums
Prolonged bleeding from cuts
Skin rash
Dizziness
A headache

Question 3

3) What causes aplastic anemia?

Accepted Answer

Aplastic anemia develops when damage occurs to a person's bone marrow which slows or shuts down
the production of new blood cells. Bone marrow is a red, spongy material inside human bones that
produces stem cells that give rise to other cells. Stem cells in the bone marrow produce blood cell.
They are red cells, white cells, and platelets. In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow is described in
medical terms as aplastic or hypoplastic, meaning that it's empty (aplastic) or contains very few blood
cells (hypoplastic).

Factors that can cause aplastic anemia:

Radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
Exposure to toxic chemicals.
Use of certain drugs.
Autoimmune disorders.
A viral infection.
Pregnancy, rarely.

Question 4

4) How common is Aplastic Anaemia?

Accepted Answer

Aplastic anemia is a very rare disease, and although it can affect anyone, at any age, it is most common in people aged over 60 – 65 years old and between 10 and 20 years old.

Question 5

5) How does Aplastic Anaemia affect your body?

Accepted Answer

Aplastic Anaemia is the reduced production of blood cells, although, the cells that are produced are normal, work normally and have a normal life span in the blood. An important feature of Aplastic Anaemia is that the marrow is hypocellular, which means that it contains very few blood-forming cells compared with a normal marrow. There may be “pockets” of normal marrow cells left, which means that a single normal marrow specimen might not always be enough to make a diagnosis of illness.

Question 6

6) How is Aplastic Anaemia classified?

Accepted Answer

The classification of AA is based on how low the numbers of blood cells have fallen, which can be
found out by a blood count.

Aplastic Anaemia can be classified as non-severe, severe, and very severe.

1.Non-severe aplastic anemia:

To make a diagnosis of Non-severe aplastic anemia, at least two of the following must be present:
Hemoglobin less than 100g/L
Platelet count less than 50 x 109/L
Neutrophil count is less than 1.5 x 109/L

2.Severe aplastic anemia:

Hypocellular bone marrow
A low platelet count
A low reticulocyte count (less than 20 or 60 x 109/L)
A neutrophil count less than 0.5 x 109/L

3.Very severe aplastic anemia:

Hypocellular bone marrow
A low platelet count
A low reticulocyte count (less than 20 or 60 x 109/L)
A low neutrophil count (less than 0.2 x 109/L)

The difference between severe and very severe Aplastic Anemia is how low the quantity of
neutrophils fall which increases the risk of severe infection.

Question 7

7) How does Immunosuppression treat AA?

Accepted Answer

Immunosuppression involves the use of the drugs to control the activity of the immune system and reduce the harm being done to bone marrow stem cells. This is the preferred treatment for patients with non-severe Aplastic Anemia and for patients with severe or very severe Aplastic Anemia who are over 35-50 years old or not able to have a stem cell transplant. If the patient has received immunosuppressive treatment, then he should not have any vaccinations. This is because there is a hypothetical risk that vaccinations might cause his anemia to return.

Question 8

8) How the Stem Cell Transplant treats AA?

Accepted Answer

For younger and fitter patients who have a fully-matched sibling, a donor stem cell transplant is the first treatment of choice. The transplant involves doses of chemotherapy to suppress the body’s immune cells so that they don’t reject the new stem cells followed by a transplant of healthy stem cells from the donor. The treatment is reported as offering a 75% – 90% chance of long term cure.

Aplastic Anemia Treatment

Symptoms

The symptoms of Aplastic Anemia are:

Diagnosis

Treatment

Bone Marrow Transplants were first found effective due to its success in treating Aplastic Anaemia. During this procedure, the ineffective bone marrow is destroyed and is replaced by the bone marrow from a compatible donor.

Risks

After Procedure

Aplastic Anemia Treatment from one of the best multi-speciality hospital: HCG Cancer Centre, Borivali West, Mumbai

Dr. Suraj Chiraniya