Anemia or anaemia is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin or hemoglobin abnormalities. The name is derived from Ancient Greek: ἀναιμία anaimia, meaning 'lack of blood', from ἀν- an-, 'not' and αἷμα haima, 'blood'. When anemia comes on slowly, the symptoms are often vague, such as tiredness, weakness, shortness of breath, headaches, and a reduced ability to exercise. When anemia is acute, symptoms may include confusion, feeling like one is going to pass out, loss of consciousness, and increased thirst. Anemia must be significant before a person becomes noticeably pale. Symptoms of anemia depend on how quickly hemoglobin decreases. Additional symptoms may occur depending on the underlying cause. Preoperative anemia can increase the risk of needing a blood transfusion following surgery. Anemia can be temporary or long term and can range from mild to severe.
Megaloblastic anemia is a type of macrocytic anemia. An anemia is a red blood cell defect that can lead to an undersupply of oxygen. Megaloblastic anemia results from inhibition of DNA synthesis during red blood cell production. When DNA synthesis is impaired, the cell cycle cannot progress from the G2 growth stage to the mitosis (M) stage. This leads to continuing cell growth without division, which presents as macrocytosis. Megaloblastic anemia has a rather slow onset, especially when compared to that of other anemias. The defect in red cell DNA synthesis is most often due to hypovitaminosis, specifically vitamin B12 deficiency or folate deficiency. Loss of micronutrients may also be a cause.
Leslie Arnold Turnberg, Baron Turnberg,, is a British medical professional and an author of many publications and books related to the medical and health services fields. His experience extends to areas of research in these fields, and maintaining a clinical practice. He has published four books and some 150 articles on medical and scientific research. He has written two books on the history of Israel: Beyond the Balfour Declaration; the 100 Year Quest for Israeli-Palestinian Peace was published in 2017, and Mandate: Britain's Palestinian Burden, 1919–1939 was published in 2021.
Alpha-thalassemia is a form of thalassemia involving the genes HBA1 and HBA2. Thalassemias are a group of inherited blood conditions which result in the impaired production of hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen in the blood. Normal hemoglobin consists of two alpha chains and two beta chains; in alpha-thalassemia, there is a quantitative decrease in the amount of alpha chains, resulting in fewer normal hemoglobin molecules. Furthermore, alpha-thalassemia leads to the production of unstable beta globin molecules which cause increased red blood cell destruction. The degree of impairment is based on which clinical phenotype is present.
Lucy Wills, LRCP was an English haematologist and physician researcher. She conducted seminal work in India in the late 1920s and early 1930s on macrocytic anaemia of pregnancy. Her observations led to her discovery of a nutritional factor in yeast which both prevents and cures this disorder. Macrocytic anaemia is characterized by enlarged red blood cells and is life-threatening. Poor pregnant women in the tropics with inadequate diets are particularly susceptible. The nutritional factor identified by Lucy Wills was subsequently shown to be folate, the naturally occurring form of folic acid.
Victor Herbert was an American hematologist who did ground-breaking work on folate and how its deficiency led to megaloblastic anemia and was a proponent of accurate and responsible nutrition information.
Alastair John Bellingham was a British haematologist.
Sir John Stuart Lilleyman is a British paediatric haematologist. His specialization is childhood leukemia and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.
Beverley Jane Hunt is professor of thrombosis and haemostasis at King's College, London, consultant in the departments of haematology, rheumatology and pathology and director of the Haemostasis Research Unit at Guy's and St Thomas' Foundation Trust, medical director of Thrombosis UK and previous president of Walthamstow Hall Old Girls Association. She was educated at Walthamstow Hall and University of Liverpool.
Sir Leybourne Stanley Patrick Davidson (1894-1981) was a British physician, medical investigator and author who wrote the medical textbook Principles and Practice of Medicine, which was first published in 1952.
Ronald Haxton Girdwood was a Scottish physician, Professor of Therapeutics at the University of Edinburgh and a President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. He undertook research into megaloblastic anaemia and was awarded a gold medal for his MD thesis. He was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh from 1975 to 1982 and oversaw the expansion of the medical school. He was a member of the Committee on Safety of Medicines. He was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh in 1953 and was elected a member of the Aesculapian Club in 1965. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1978 and awarded a CBE in 1985.
Fereydoun Ala is an Iranian physician and academician, specialised in internal medicine, haematology, blood transfusion and haemostasis, who established the first Clinical Haematology Department, and the first Haemophilia Centre in Iran at the Tehran University Medical Faculty. He was the founder of the Iranian National Blood Transfusion Service (INBTS), a centralised, state-funded organisation, established in 1974, for the recruitment of healthy, voluntary, non-remunerated blood donors.
Barbara Jane Bain is an Australian haematologist and oncologist. She is a professor at the Imperial College Faculty of Medicine and a consultant at St Mary's Hospital, London. She is known as the author of reference textbooks in the field of haematology that form the core curriculum for laboratory morphology and pathology.
Neville Colman was a hematologist and forensic DNA expert who made ground-breaking discoveries about folate and nutrition. He also founded the West Side Soccer League, the largest all-volunteer sports organization in New York City. There is a sports field named after him in NYC's Riverside Park.
Sheila Theodora Elsie Callender was a British physician and haematologist. She spent the majority of her career at Oxford University, and has been credited with helping to establish haematology as a distinct medical discipline.
Dyserythropoiesis refers to the defective development of red blood cells, also called erythrocytes. This problem can be congenital, acquired, or inherited. Some red blood cells may be destroyed within the bone marrow during the maturation process, whereas others can enter the circulation with abnormalities. These abnormalities can be functional and/or morphological, which can lead to anemia since there may be increased turnover of red blood cells. There are a number of diseases that cause dyserythropoiesis. Congenital/inherited causes include congenital dyserythropoietic anemia, thalassemia, pyruvate kinase deficiency, hereditary pyropoikilocytosis, and abetalipoproteinemia. Acquired causes include nutrient deficiency/malnutrition, myelodysplasia, HIV infection, and certain medications.
Mammen Chandy is a former director of Tata Medical Center, Kolkata. Chandy, an alumnus of Christian Medical College Vellore, is a pioneer in the field of bone marrow transplantation in India. He was involved in setting up the first bone marrow transplantation program in the country at Christian Medical College, Vellore in 1986. In January 2019, Chandy was awarded Padma Shri for his contribution to the field of medicine.
John Frederick "Wilkie" Wilkinson was a chemist, physician, and pioneering haematologist. He was among the first physicians to experiment with chemotherapy for leukaemia.
Swee Lay Thein is a Malaysian haematologist and physician-scientist who is Senior Investigator at the National Institutes of Health. She works on the pathophysiology of haemoglobin disorders including sickle cell disease and thalassemia.
Charles Cady Ungley (14 July 1902, London – 21 August 1958, Newcastle upon Tyne) was an English physician and medical researcher, known for his research on the therapeutic uses of vitamin B12. In 1938 he was the Goulstonian Lecturer.
