What Do You Know About Aplastic Anemia?
Aplastic anemia is a rare blood disorder that affects the growth of blood cells. "Aplastic"
means "lack of growth." Learn more about this serious disease by taking the following
quiz.
1. Blood cells--red, white and platelets--are made in the bone marrow.
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The bone marrow, which is the spongy liquid inside your bones, makes stem cells. These
stem cells develop into the 3 main types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood
cells and platelets. Red blood cells are transporters. They carry oxygen from the
lungs to the cells and carbon dioxide from the cells to the lungs. White blood cells
are part of the body's immune system. Platelets help the blood clot.
2. In a person with aplastic anemia, the body stops or slows down the making of all
blood cells.
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The bone marrow in a healthy person makes blood cells all the time to replace those
that die. A red blood cell lives for about 120 days. A white blood cell often lives
for less than a day. A platelet lives for about 6 days. In a person with aplastic
anemia, the body slows or stops making blood cells because the stem cells are damaged.
Researchers don't know what causes this damage in most cases of aplastic anemia. Occasionally,
the disorder is caused by certain medicines such as the antibiotic chloramphenicol.
Why this happens, researchers do not know.
3. Having too few red blood cells causes a person to feel tired.
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Red blood cells contain hemoglobin. Hemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to all
cells in the body. Red blood cells also remove waste carbon dioxide from the cells
and carry it to the lungs to be breathed out (exhaled). If the body has too few red
blood cells, too little oxygen reaches the cells and too little carbon dioxide is
removed. This condition is called anemia. It causes a person to feel tired. The heart
must pump harder to make up for the lack of oxygen.
4. Having too few white blood cells makes a person more likely to get sick.
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White blood cells are used to fight infections. If you have too few white blood cells,
you cannot fight off infections as well. You may become ill more often. A low white
blood cell count also means illnesses last longer or are more severe than in a person
with a normal count.
5. Having too few platelets raises the risk for blood clots.
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Platelets help the blood to clot. Having too few platelets raises the risk of bleeding
or bruising. With too few platelets, it may be difficult to stop bleeding once it
starts. Bleeding can occur even from mild trauma that normally would not be noticed.
6. Aplastic anemia is diagnosed more commonly in teens, young adults, and older adults.
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Aplastic anemia is rare in the U.S. Anyone at any age can get this disease, but it’s
more common in these age groups.
7. Two types of aplastic anemia have been found: hereditary and acquired.
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A person with the hereditary form of aplastic anemia is born with the illness. A person
with the acquired form—the more common type—may develop the illness after exposure
to something in the environment. These triggers are thought to include toxic chemicals
such as pesticides, chemotherapy medicines used to treat cancer, radiation, autoimmune
diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, and viral infections such as hepatitis,
cytomegalovirus, and HIV. But often doctors don't know the cause of this type of aplastic
anemia.
8. The treatment for aplastic anemia is similar to that for cancer.
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These treatments include blood transfusions, medicines to stimulate the bone marrow,
immunosuppressant medicines, and bone marrow or stem cell transplants. Treatment depends
on the severity of the illness. People with mild or moderate aplastic anemia may not
need treatment. A healthcare provider will check blood counts often to make sure the
illness is not getting worse. Treatment is needed when a person has severe or very
severe aplastic anemia. Many people with aplastic anemia can be treated and some can
be cured.
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