Posts Tagged ‘Normal Blood’

A Short Classification Of Leukemia Cells

Comments: 0June 10th, 2011 by admin



In the bone marrow are produced the leukemia cells which are abnormal and immature.These cells are classified in two types:lymphoid leukemia cells and myeloid leukemia cells.The abnormal, immature cells called leukemia cells are produced by blood-forming tissue and these are named after the lymphoid or myeloid cells.

It is better to know about the normal blood cells and about the form of these.So,in the bone marrow,which is the soft material in the center of most bones, are formed the blood cells.The immature blood cells called stem cells and blasts are produced by the marrow.

These blood cells become mature,they can be formed into one of three types of mature blood cells like:red blood that carry oxygen and other materials to all tissues of the body,white blood cells that fight infection and disease,platelets that help prevent bleeding by causing blood clots to form.

One of two types of stem cells are created by mature blood cells like lymphoid stem cells or myeloid stem cells.As they grow they become lymphoid blasts, they transform in lymphocytes and then passes into white blood cells.In the same way myeloid cells grow,passes into myeloid blasts, then myelocytes and finally they become either white blood cells, red blood cells or platelets.

Abnormal cells are produced in the bone marrow and they can be either abnormal lymphoid cells or myeloid cells;appears only at people with leukemia.Lymphocytic leukemia is formed by the abnormal lymphoid cells and the myeloid leukemia is created by the abnormal myeloid cells.The types of leukemia based on the leukemia cells are four and they are the following:chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL),chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML),acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Too many stem cells develops into either abnormal lymphoblasts or lynphocytes conduct to the appearance of lymphoid leukemia cells.Unfortunatelly lymphoblastic and lymphocytic are not abble to fight infection because of the number of lymphocytes arrises in the blood and bone marrow,there is less space for healty white blood cells,red blood cells and platelets, which can cause infection anemia and easy bleeding.

At people with leukemia there are three types of lymphocytes they became abnormal:B lymphocytes that make antibodies to help fight infection,T lymphocytes that help B lymphocytes make the antibodies that help fight infection and natural killer cells that attack cancer cells and viruses.It is important for as to know the classification of these cells and their role.

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Posted in anemia

Memory Loss, Nerve Damage Caused by Vitamin B12 Deficiency: Pernicious Anemia

Comments: 0January 13th, 2011 by admin



Pernicious anemia is due to lack of vitamin B12, which causes progressive nerve damage, forgetfulness, loss of ability to concentrate and abnormal sensations such as burning, itching and loss of feeling. However, many people with pernicious anemia do not have abnormally low blood levels of vitamin B12.

A study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society shows that older people have lower blood levels of a chemical called homotranscobalamin II that carries vitamin B12 into the cells, so they need higher blood levels to have normal tissue levels.

Since low-normal blood level of vitamin B12 do not rule out B12 deficiency, the diagnosis of pernicious anemia is often made late in the course of the disease after many people have suffered permanent nerve damage. According to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine, two percent of Americans over 60 have low blood levels of vitamin B12, but the incidence of vitamin B12 deficiency causing nerve damage in older people is much higher than that, sometimes as high as 50 percent. Therefore, many older people who are diagnosed with senility actually suffer from lack of vitamin B12 which can be cured by taking vitamin B supplements.

Lack of vitamin B12 also can cause heart attacks, so all people over 60 should be screened with blood tests for vitamin B12 and those with normal levels of B12 and symptoms of nerve damage or arteriosclerosis should also get a blood test called homocysteine.

Many people cannot correct their B12 deficiency with diet because they cannot absorb enough B12 from their food.
Almost always, those with a deficiency can a cured by taking a 1000 microgram pill of vitamin B12 once a day. They usually do not need to take injections. Low levels of B12 are also associated with stomach diseases and infections such as Helicobacter pylori.

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Risks Linked to Leukemia

Comments: 0October 30th, 2010 by admin



While all the causes of leukemia are still not known, there are risks that have been linked to the development of various types of leukemia. There have been both environmental as well as genetic factors that have shown up as links to leukemia.

The type of leukemia a person has usually depends on the type of abnormal white blood cells that are being produced in the body. Leukemia produces abnormal or immature white blood cells in the bone marrow. At an early development of white blood cells, a blast is the immature form of white blood cells. This is the stage between the stem cell in the bone marrow and the mature blood. Blasts (immature blood cells) are found in limited numbers in the bone marrow of healthy people and not at all in the blood stream. People with leukemia may have high numbers of blasts in the bone marrow and even circulating throughout the circulatory system.

The different types of leukemia are grouped as acute or chronic. An acute leukemia usually produces immature white blood cells that are non-functioning. These cells rapidly reproduce and crowd out the healthy cells. A chronic leukemia produces abnormal blood cells that don’t function as well as normal blood cells. These forms of leukemia are slower acting on the body than the acute forms of leukemia.

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is most common in adults and causes the rapid development of immature white blood cells in the bone marrow crowding out normal cells and spreading these no-functioning cells throughout the body. This interferes in usual work of the normal blood cells. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) causes an increased unregulated growth of myeloid cells in the bone marrow and an elevated amount of white blood cells in the blood. Severe anemia is a result of this overabundance of white cells.

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is most common among children under the age of fifteen. In this leukemia the rapid multiplying of malignant immature white blood cells crowds out normal white cells. This type of leukemia responds well to treatment if it is diagnosed in time. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) a defective white blood cell is produced in overabundance. This cell does not fight infection and crowds out the healthy cells. Often the chronic lymphocytic leukemia is only discovered after a blood test when the elevated white blood cell count is found.

Some of the risk factors that researchers have identified include high doses of radiation, long-term chemical exposure in the work place, cigarette smoking, and agricultural chemicals. High doses of radiation such as around the failed nuclear reactor at Chernobyl or military exposure during the nuclear detonations in the 1950′s show a strong link to leukemia. Exposure to benzene, herbicides and pesticides have been linked to acute leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia has been linked to exposure to agricultural chemicals as has exposure to Agent Orange. Cigarette smoking seems to have an important link to acute leukemia. This is probably due to the chemicals such as benzene, polonium-210 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Certain chemotherapy drugs especially alkylating agents combined with ionizing radiation may produce leukemia. Some diseases caused by abnormal chromosomes may increase the risk of leukemia. Philadelphia chromosome is a specific chromosomal abnormality in which parts of two chromosomes swap places. This can lead to acute myelogenous leukemia.

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Posted in leukimia

General Aspects of Leukemia

Comments: 0March 15th, 2010 by admin



Many people suffer from leukemia these days. A large number of cases of cancer are identified to be leukemia. Leukemia is a sort of cancer of the blood and marrow. The disease is characterized through the overproducing of immature blood cells (stem cells) that aren’t able to fully develop and to carry out the activities of normal blood cells.

According to their functions and structure, there are three different types of cells within the normal blood: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Through the process of hematopoiesis, these three types of blood cells are developed from a distinctive type of blood cell called stem cell. Stem cells divide and go through several stages of development to finally form a mature blood cell of a particular type, with a certain, distinctive function in the body. The process through which a stem cell morphs into a mature blood cell takes place within the bone marrow.

According to the speed of development and the persistence of the disorder, there are two types of leukemia: acute leukemia and chronic leukemia. Acute leukemia is known to develop very rapidly, while chronic leukemia is developed slowly. According to the types of blood cells affected by the disease, leukemia can either be lymphocytic or myelogenous.

Lymphocytic and myelogenous types of leukemia are developed from different types of cells: the lymphocytic type of leukemia develops from cells called lymphoblasts or lymphocytes in the spongious tissue of the bones, while the myelogenous type of leukemia (sometimes refered to as myeloid and myelocytic leukemia) develops from myeloid cells.

In the case of acute forms of leukemia, the abnormal cells come from early, immature cells. Such forms of the disorder have a very fast rate of development, due to the fact that normal stem cells tend to multiply frequently. Leukemia cells usually don’t divide faster and more frequently than normal stem cells, they simply don’t stop their process of division when they should. Sometimes the numbers of white blood cells are very high, while in other cases they can be normal or low.

Chronic leukemia, apart from its slow development, is different from acute leukemia by the level of maturation that the diseased cells are able to reach. Stem cells affected by chronic leukemia reach a higher level of maturation but they present abnormalities and they can’t act as healthy white blood cells do. Unlike acute leukemia, in the chronic form of the disease the unhealthy cells have much longer periods of life and they tend to accumulate in different parts of the body.

Leukemia affects people of all age groups. While children usually respond better to the treatment for leukemia and sometimes deal well with the disease, adults difficultly cope with this form of cancer.

Regardless of age and sex, many people are diagnosed with forms of leukemia. Children tend to respond better to some types of leukemia, while adults difficultly cope with the disease. The cases of acute leukemia exceed those of chronic leukemia by approximately 10 percent. Older adults seem to be affected the most by acute leukemia. Around two thirds of acute leukemia cases seem to occur after the age of 60.

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Myelodysplastic Syndrome and Leukemia

Comments: 0June 30th, 2009 by admin



Considered to be a benign disease for years, Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) is nowadays known to pose a serious threat to people it affects. Recent studies have revealed that MDS is actually a malignant disease that can further lead to leukemia. Due to this fact, Myelodysplastic Syndrome is also referred to as pre-leukemia disease.

Similar to leukemia, MDS triggers an overproduction of abnormal blood cells that eventually outnumber their healthy counterparts. The cells involved in causing the disease are called blasts and they originate in the bone marrow. Dysfunctional blasts multiply at abnormally fast rates and accumulate in the marrow or in the bloodstream. These functionless cells perturb the production of normal blood cells, causing a decrease in the number of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. As a result, people who suffer from MDS also have anemia, (due to fewer red blood cells), impaired immune system (due to fewer white blood cells) and experience slow healing (due to fewer platelets).

Many patients diagnosed with MDS are at risk of developing leukemia. In order to block the progression of MDS and to prevent the occurrence of leukemia, most patients receive treatments with decitabine, a new drug that is currently under testing.

Although most patients diagnosed with MDS respond well to treatments with mild chemotherapy drugs and decitabine, they commonly experience relapse after completing the prescribed course of medications. MDS has a pronounced recurrent character and despite its high curability in the initial stages of the disease, it becomes very difficult to treat in later stages of evolution.

Oncologists have noticed the fact that patients who relapse also become less responsive to second treatments. The exact reasons why most patients with MDS fail to respond to re-treatment are still unknown. However, this problem may be corrected by extending the duration of initial treatments. Medical scientists explain that a single long-term course of chemotherapy drugs and decitabine may provide better results than frequently repeated shorter treatments. They sustain that by extending the treatment with mild chemotherapy drugs and decitabine beyond the margin of remission, patients with MDS are less likely to relapse. In addition, medical scientists claim that patients who achieve remission should follow ongoing maintenance treatments in order to prevent the recurrence of the disease.

Recently conducted experiments have confirmed the fact that long-term treatments provide better results than repeated treatments in overcoming MDS. Patients who receive short-term treatments not only experience relapse, but they are also more exposed to developing acute leukemia and other severe forms of blood cancer. In order to prevent this from happening, an extended low-dose initial treatment with decitabine followed by maintenance treatments may be the best option for patients diagnosed with MDS.

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