Myelodysplastic sindromes
bullet   bullet   bullet  
A hypothesis for the pathogenesis of myelodysplastic syndromes:  implications for new therapies                                                                                          
C Rosenfeld & A List 
Leukemia -  Normal and Malignant Hemopoiesis -  January 2000, Volume 14, Issue 1
The myelodysplastic syndromes consist of five separate entities, many of wich have overlapping characteristics that can be distinguished by the predominant blood and marrow characteristics:
  • Refractory anemia (RA) 
  • Refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts (RAS) 
  • Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) 
  • Refractory anemia excess blasts (RAEB) 
  • Refractory anemia excess blasts in trasformation (RAEB-T)                                                                
The most frequent presentationis is anemia. This anemia is characterized by hypoproliferation, with an increase in the mean cell volume. Neutropenia is often accompanied  by a monocytosis. Thrombocytopenia is found in 25% of patients at the time of diagnsos, but mild thromobcytosis may also occur. The abnormality in platelets may be accompanied by abnormal platelet funcion. Often patients have lymphocyte abnormalities, such as lymphopenia with decreased numbers of natural killer cells and/or helper lymphocytes.
The term "myelodysplastic syndrome" lead one to believe that the bone marrow is simply abnormal but not neoplastic in  nature.This is not the case. The bone marrows in MDS represents the clonal proliferation of anormal stem cell. Older term for MDS such as "preleukemia" might in fact be more appropriate.
(From Hematology/Oncology Secrets, Hanley&Belfus Inc. 1994)
Topics: 

Thalidomide produces transfusion independence in long-standing refractory anemias of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.
Blood. 2001 Aug 15;98(4):958-65

Effect of recombinant human erythropoietin combined with granulocyte/ macrophage colony-stimulating factor in the treatment of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome                                                                                                                                     Blood, Vol. 95 No. 4 (February 15), 2000: pp. 1175-1179

Recombinant Erythropoietin: A Possible Alternative to Red Blood Cell Transfusion for Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome                                                                 Medscape Oncology 1(3), 1998

 
Back to Bloodless Medicine Research