Essential Thrombocythemia Essay

The liver becomes so diseased and damaged that it can no longer produce appropriate amounts of clotting factor and hormones to make platelets. “Vitamin K must be present in order for the liver to synthesize some of the clotting factors, including prothrombin, interleukin-6, multi-CSF, and fibrinogen.” p 664 If the blood is unable to clot then the patient will continue to bleed to the point that a liver transplant is necessary. Prothrombin a peptide hormone produced in the kidneys that accelerates platelet formation. Interleukin-6 is a hormone that stimulates platelet formation. Multi-CSF is a hormone that stimulates platelet production by promoting the formation and growth of megakaryocytes. p.660 If all of these hormones are

Immune chemicals cause widespread inflammation, leading to blood clots and reduced blood flow 2• 1

A person with a normal platelet count has between 150,000 to 450,000 per each microliter of blood in the body. With Thrombocytopenia, patients have platelet counts that are less than 150,000 per microliter of blood. Platelets help to promote blood clotting. When a person receives a cut, or injures themselves, platelets come to the site of injury and bind to damaged vessel, thus causing a blood clot and helping to stop the bleeding that accompanies the injury (Williams). However, with a reduced platelet count, this function can be impaired. Patients can easily bruise or bleed due to even a slight bump, as well as experience nosebleeds. Bleeding gums are another symptom of Thrombocytopenia (MDS Foundation). Based on symptoms, doctors might decide to test a patient for Myelodysplastic

Platelets are not really cells in a way. As Marieb (2012) mentions,” They are fragments of bizarre multinucleate cells called megakaryocytes (meg″ah-kar′e-o-sītz), which pinch off thousands of anucleate platelet “pieces” that quickly seal themselves off from the surrounding fluids” (p. 344) The liver helps produce blood clotting factors. If it is not in working order then the person is not able to stop bleeding as easily as someone who has a properly working liver. There is a correction to help produce the proper amount of blood clotting factors and that is to take Vitamin K.

When von Willebrand factor is insufficient or not operational appropriately because of structural defects, small blood cells called platelets cannot stick together properly, nor can they attach themselves normally to the blood vessel walls when an injury has occurred. The result is interfering with the clotting course, and uncontrolled bleeding may continue. VWD is the most common bleeding disorder, affecting up to 1% of the United States population. It is carried on chromosome 12 and occurs equally in men and women (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute,

Leads to a reduced ability to form blood clots due to a decreased number of platelets.

If this disease causes such problems, one may wonder what causes it? Many fanatics of life science have established that hemophilia is the consequence of a mutation or change in one of the genes. This gene is the gene that provides instructions for making the clotting factor

The body views the platelets as a foreign body and causes a response that produces antibodies that marks the spleen to destroy and remove the platelets. The platelet count is affected by antibodies produced by individuals with ITP. The antibody produced covers the surface of the platelets making them easily destructible by macrophages. Once the macrophages destroy the platelets faster than they are produced, the number of platelets are greatly reduced causing a decrease in blood clotting.

Mutations lead to a genetic deficiency in clotting factor VIII, causing increased bleeding and affects males a majority of the time. HA can occur in homozygous females. 5-10% of patients with HA have dysfunctional proteins (factor VII) and 90% to 95% of HA cases are characterized by a quantitative deficiency pf factor VII. Patients usually experience bleeding episodes: the most serious bleeding sites include, joints, muscles, digestive tract, and brain. 30% of cases are caused by new mutations. Medications are prescribed to prevent bleeding episodes and for more severe cases blood coagulate and blood plasma treatments are

Thrombocytopenia means that you have a low number of platelets in your blood. Platelets are tiny cells in the blood. When you bleed, they clump together at the cut or injury to stop the bleeding. This is called blood clotting. Not having enough platelets can cause bleeding problems.

With current developments in science, devices and processes have been created to discover and treat new illnesses. One type of these newly discovered illnesses is Myeloproliferative Neoplasms. These are a form of cancer that is caused by the overproduction of red blood cells. The incidence of MPNs is estimated at 6–10 per 100 000 individuals (Geyer & Orazi, 2016). According to the National Institute of Cancer (2017),these individuals suffer from sharp and excruciating pains in their bones and joints Nonetheless, there are ongoing studies that have been and are being done to find the causes, long term effects, and treatments for the illness (National Cancer Institute (n.d.), 2017).

When the activity of the GPI-anchored proteins is reduced the mutation is then able to develop into the dominant gene in the creation of red blood cells. The complement system then recognizes the red blood cells as foreign cells causing the complement system to attack the mutation and when this occurs, red blood cells are destroyed faster than the normal 120 day life span, which leads to the deficiency of red blood cells and all the nutrients that they carry. In PNH, the red blood cells are missing two of the complement regulating proteins that are needed for GPI-anchored proteins to attach them to the cell membrane and since the two proteins are missing a lot of the nutrients and are in a deficient amount, it can lead to hemolytic anemia, iron deficiency anemia, aplastic anemia, blood clots, myelodysplasia, acute myelogenous leukemia, and even

Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic purpura is a blood disorder that will lead to easy bleeding [41]. Bleeding occurs due to platelets demolish. Platelets are destroyed because of the immune system. Platelets are one of the blood cells which are tiny and necessary for normal blood clotting and stopping the bleeding [42]. Persons with this ITP disease have less count of platelets. Idiopathic mean that the cause of the condition is unknown. The condition that patient experiences due to this disease is known as thrombocytopenic. Purpura means a patient has excessive bruising and bleeding [45].

The last scenario and blood disorder is Spencer, who over the past several weeks is having more bruises, or ecchymosis, all over his body. After coughing this morning, Spencer noticed tiny red marks all around his eyes. Spencer is showing signs of thrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia is a condition of the blood in which the blood doesn’t clot properly because there are not enough platelets. This condition can be caused by many different things such as decreased platelet production, increased platelet

Giant Platelet Syndrome, also known as Bernard-Soulier Syndrome, is a condition “in which the platelets lack the ability to stick adequately to injured blood vessel walls” (MedicineNet.com). It is “a rare inherited bleeding disorder caused by abnormal platelets and subsequent abnormal clotting” that is “transmitted in an autosomal recessive pattern.” Jean Bernard and Jean-Pierre Soulier, two French hematologist, discovered this condition in 1948 while treating a patient who was excessively bleeding. This patient had relatively larger but fewer platelets than a normal individual would which resulted in a longer bleeding duration. The Bernard-Soulier Syndrome is characterized by thrombocytopenia, a shortage of platelet in the blood, which causes