Aplastic anemia (AA) is a severe hematologic condition in which the body fails to make blood cells in sufficient numbers. Aplastic anemia is associated with cancer and various cancer syndromes. Blood cells are produced in the bone marrow by stem cells that reside there. Aplastic anemia causes a deficiency of all blood cell types: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
Erythema infectiosum, fifth disease, or slapped cheek syndrome is one of several possible manifestations of infection by parvovirus B19. Fifth disease typically presents as a rash and is more common in children. While parvovirus B19 can affect humans of all ages, only two out of ten individuals will present with physical symptoms.
Human parvovirus B19, generally referred to as B19 virus(B19V),parvovirus B19 or sometimes erythrovirus B19, is the first known human virus in the family Parvoviridae, genus Erythroparvovirus; it measures only 23–26 nm in diameter. Human parvovirus b19 is a below-species classification of Erythroparvovirus primate1. The name is derived from Latin parvum, meaning small, reflecting the fact that B19 ranks among the smallest DNA viruses. B19 virus is most known for causing disease in the pediatric population; however, it can also affect adults. It is the classic cause of the childhood rash called fifth disease or erythema infectiosum, or "slapped cheek syndrome".
A thymoma is a tumor originating from the epithelial cells of the thymus that is considered a rare malignancy. Thymomas are frequently associated with neuromuscular disorders such as myasthenia gravis; thymoma is found in 20% of patients with myasthenia gravis. Once diagnosed, thymomas may be removed surgically. In the rare case of a malignant tumor, chemotherapy may be used.
Evans syndrome is an autoimmune disease in which an individual's immune system attacks their own red blood cells and platelets, the syndrome can include immune neutropenia. These immune cytopenias may occur simultaneously or sequentially.
Diamond–Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a congenital erythroid aplasia that usually presents in infancy. DBA causes low red blood cell counts (anemia), without substantially affecting the other blood components, which are usually normal. This is in contrast to Shwachman–Bodian–Diamond syndrome, in which the bone marrow defect results primarily in neutropenia, and Fanconi anemia, where all cell lines are affected resulting in pancytopenia. There is a risk to develop acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and certain other cancers.
Transient erythroblastopenia of childhood (TEC) is a slowly developing anemia of early childhood characterized by gradual onset of pallor.
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) occurs when antibodies directed against the person's own red blood cells (RBCs) cause them to burst (lyse), leading to an insufficient number of oxygen-carrying red blood cells in the circulation. The lifetime of the RBCs is reduced from the normal 100–120 days to just a few days in serious cases. The intracellular components of the RBCs are released into the circulating blood and into tissues, leading to some of the characteristic symptoms of this condition. The antibodies are usually directed against high-incidence antigens, therefore they also commonly act on allogenic RBCs. AIHA is a relatively rare condition, with an incidence of 5–10 cases per 1 million persons per year in the warm-antibody type and 0.45 to 1.9 cases per 1 million persons per year in the cold antibody type. Autoimmune hemolysis might be a precursor of later onset systemic lupus erythematosus.
Aplasia is a birth defect where an organ or tissue is wholly or largely absent. It is caused by a defect in a developmental process.
Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (PCH) or Donath–Landsteiner hemolytic anemia (DLHA) is an autoimmune hemolytic anemia featured by complement-mediated intravascular hemolysis after cold exposure. It can present as an acute non-recurrent postinfectious event in children, or chronic relapsing episodes in adults with hematological malignancies or tertiary syphilis. Described by Julius Donath (1870–1950) and Karl Landsteiner (1868–1943) in 1904, PCH is one of the first clinical entities recognized as an autoimmune disorder.
Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of high concentrations of circulating cold sensitive antibodies, usually IgM and autoantibodies that are also active at temperatures below 30 °C (86 °F), directed against red blood cells, causing them to agglutinate and undergo lysis. It is a form of autoimmune hemolytic anemia, specifically one in which antibodies bind red blood cells only at low body temperatures, typically 28–31 °C.
Reticulocytopenia is the medical term for an abnormal decrease in circulating red blood cell precursors (reticulocytes) that can lead to anemia due to resulting low red blood cell (erythrocyte) production. Reticulocytopenia may be an isolated finding or it may not be associated with abnormalities in other hematopoietic cell lineages such as those that produce white blood cells (leukocytes) or platelets (thrombocytes), a decrease in all three of these lineages is referred to as pancytopenia.
Idiopathic CD4+ lymphocytopenia (ICL) is a rare medical syndrome in which the body has too few CD4+ T lymphocytes, which are a kind of white blood cell. ICL is sometimes characterized as "HIV-negative AIDS", though, in fact, its clinical presentation differs somewhat from that seen with HIV/AIDS. People with ICL have a weakened immune system and are susceptible to opportunistic infections, although the rate of infections is lower than in people with AIDS.
Large granular lymphocytic (LGL) leukemia is a chronic lymphoproliferative disorder that exhibits an unexplained, chronic elevation in large granular lymphocytes (LGLs) in the peripheral blood.
Aggressive NK-cell leukemia is a disease with an aggressive, systemic proliferation of natural killer cells and a rapidly declining clinical course.
Hematologic diseases are disorders which primarily affect the blood & blood-forming organs. Hematologic diseases include rare genetic disorders, anemia, HIV, sickle cell disease & complications from chemotherapy or transfusions.
Thymoma with immunodeficiency is a rare disorder that occurs in adults in whom hypogammaglobulinemia, deficient cell-mediated immunity, and thymoma may develop almost simultaneously. Most reported cases are in Europe, though it occurs globally.
Clodoveo Ferri is an Italian researcher of clinical rheumatology, immunology and internal medicine. Since January 2003, Clodoveo Ferri has been a professor of rheumatology, Chief of the Chair of Rheumatology and director of the Postgraduate School of Rheumatology at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Modena, Italy. A native of Cropani, a small town in Calabria, Italy, Clodoveo Ferri graduated cum laude from the University of Pisa and later specialized in internal medicine and rheumatology.
Cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia caused by cold-reacting antibodies. Autoantibodies that bind to the erythrocyte membrane leading to premature erythrocyte destruction (hemolysis) characterize autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
