Nose on the phone with Pia Radiatio (radiation therapy) and how is she doing Pathogenesis (disease development)
In aplastic anemia, an autoimmune reaction (pathological reaction of the immune system towards the body’s own tissue) towards the bone marrow occurs, among other things, due to infections (<5% of cases) and drugs/toxins (<10%). The bone marrow is destroyed and the production of hematological cells (erythrocytes (red blood cells), leukocytes (white blood cells) and thrombocytes (blood platelets) fails.) All cell series are affected.
Etiology (causes)
Biographic causes
- Genetically determined diseases:
- Dyskeratosis congenita – multisystem disease with the muco-cutaneous triad of “abnormal skin pigmentation, nail dystrophy, and mucosal leukoplakia”; symptoms usually appear in childhood: including bone marrow depression, tendency to develop malignancies
- Fanconi anemia – genetic disease that occurs in childhood and can lead to hematological neoplasms (malignant neoplasm of hematopoietic cells); typical sign of Fanconi anemia is, among other things, the regression of the bone marrow (severe aplastic anemia) – a pancytopenia (synonym: tricytopenia; reduction of all three cell series in the blood) is common in this case.
Disease-related causes
- Eosinophilic fasciitis – diseases from the group of collagenoses; here hardening in the connective tissue occurs.
- Graft-versus-host disease – this is a reaction after the administration of unirradiated blood products to immunosuppressed recipients in this case.
- Hepatitis (inflammation of the liver)
- HIV infection
- Infectious mononucleosis – acute febrile inflammation caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
- Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) – acquired disease of the hematopoietic stem cell caused by a mutation of the phosphatidyl inositol glycan (PIG) A gene; characterized by hemolytic anemia (anemia caused by the breakdown of red blood cells), thrombophilia (tendency to thrombosis), and pancytopenia, ie. i.e. a deficiency in all three cell series (tricytopenia) of hematopoiesis, i.e. a leukocytopenia (reduction of white blood cells), anemia and thrombocytopenia (reduction of platelets), is characterized.
- Parvovirus B19 infection
- Thymoma – tumor originating from the thymic tissue.
- Thymus carcinoma (thymus cancer).
Medication
- See “Cause” under medications
Environmental pollution – intoxications (poisonings).
- Arsenic
- Benzene
- Bismuth
- Gold
- Mercury
Other causes
- Radiatio (radiotherapy)
- Pregnancy
