Causes Of Aplastic Anemia | Bone Marrow transplant Abroad

Causes Of Aplastic Anemia | Bone Marrow transplant Abroad

What is Aplastic anemia?

Aplastic anemia is a rare disorder in which the bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells. This happens because the normal blood-forming cells (stem cells) are replaced by abnormal fat cells.

A rare and serious condition, aplastic anemia can develop at any age. Aplastic anemia may occur suddenly, or it can occur slowly and get worse over a long period of time. Treatment for aplastic anemia may include medications, blood transfusions or a stem cell transplant, also known as a bone marrow transplant.

Symptoms

• Aplastic anemia symptoms may include
• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath with exertion
• Rapid or irregular heart rate
• Pale skin
• Frequent or prolonged infections
• Unexplained or easy bruising
• Nosebleeds and bleeding gums
• Prolonged bleeding from cuts
• Skin rash
• Dizziness
• Headache

Causes

Aplastic anemia develops when damage occurs to your bone marrow, slowing or shutting down the production of new blood cells. Bone marrow is a red, spongy material inside your bones that produces stem cells, which give rise to other cells. Stem cells in the bone marrow produce blood cells — red cells, white cells, and platelets. In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow is described in medical terms as aplastic or hypoplastic — meaning that it's empty (aplastic) or contains very few blood cells (hypoplastic).

• Radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
• Exposure to toxic chemicals.
• Use of certain drugs. 
• Autoimmune disorders.
• A viral infection.
• Pregnancy.
• Unknown factors.
• Confusion with myelodysplastic syndrome

Aplastic anemia can be mistaken for a condition called myelodysplastic syndrome. In this group of disorders, the bone marrow produces new blood cells, but they're deformed and underdeveloped. The bone marrow in myelodysplastic syndrome is sometimes called hyperplastic — meaning that it's packed with blood cells. But some people with the myelodysplastic syndrome have an empty marrow that's difficult to distinguish from aplastic anemia.

Prevention

There's generally no prevention for most cases of aplastic anemia. Avoiding exposure to insecticides, herbicides, organic solvents, paint removers, and other toxic chemicals may lower your risk of the disease.
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