Causes And Risk Factors Of Pancytopenia

Pancytopenia is a condition that happens when all the blood cells are low. This includes the red blood cells (anemia), white blood cells (leukopenia), and platelets (thrombocytopenia). The symptoms of this disorder are general, which include fatigue, infections, and bruising, and can be caused by a number of different illnesses. Blood cells come from the bone marrow and develop into different kinds of blood cells, becoming more specialized to be used for different reasons in the body. There are many causes and risk factors of pancytopenia. It is important for patients to get their blood tested if they suspect this condition. A complete blood count will tell the doctors how many of each kind of blood cells a patient currently has in their body.

Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria is a rare condition that results in the red blood cells breaking apart. It is highly present in patients with pancytopenia, where all the blood cells are depleted or compromised. The classic sign of this disorder is urine with a red discoloration, usually most noticeable in the morning when concentration is highest. The red color is caused by the breakdown of the red blood cells.

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria is characterized, in part, by pancytopenia. It is the destructive force behind the low red blood cell count. Fortunately, there are treatments to combat this disease and help patients with their overall battle of pancytopenia. Individuals with this disorder will suffer from fatigue, shortness of breath, anemia, and red urine. If the condition is not treated, the patient will only survive about ten years.

Aplastic Anemia

A patient with aplastic anemia will also have pancytopenia. This is characterized as a decrease in all the blood components. Because the bone marrow and hematopoietic stem cells are damaged, the resulting red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are not properly formed and cannot create mature blood cells. Low red blood cell counts lead to anemia and low platelet counts lead to increased bleeding and bruising.

A low white blood cell count leads to an increase in infections. Some medications can be used, but a bone marrow transplant is really the only way to combat the disease. Curing the aplastic anemia will most likely result in the red blood cells being formed properly and could mean the individual does not have pancytopenia any longer. Mild cases of the disease can resolve themselves.

Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a bone marrow disorder. When there is a problem with the bone marrow, the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are affected. This condition causes cancer cells to accumulate in the bone marrow, which results in the production of abnormal cells instead of normal ones. The abnormalities cause problems and complications because the body cannot use what is being produced.

The abnormal cells can proceed to affect kidney function by causing damage to them. This condition can be the underlying condition to pancytopenia, where it is one component of the low number of cells the body is producing and using. Multiple myeloma has the opportunity to be resolved if pancytopenia is cured through the use of a bone marrow transplant. This allows the new cells to take over and begin making healthy blood cells for the body to use.

Sepsis

Sepsis is the body's response to a serious infection and can be life-threatening if not treated right away. The body releases chemicals to fight the infection. But, when a serious infection takes hold and the body's response to an infection is out of balance, the chemicals released by the body can trigger changes that will damage multiple organ systems. If the infection is not controlled, the sepsis will result in organ failures, septic shock, a dramatic blood pressure drop, and possibly death.

It can cause pancytopenia because the infection prompts the body to release defenses against the infection. But this condition causes the system to malfunction and mature blood cells are suppressed. Furthermore, this can result in permanent damage to the hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. This can cause the body to produce less of the blood cells it needs, resulting in pancytopenia. Researchers are trying to find a way to prevent this damage to the bone marrow when the body is faced with a serious infection.

Gaucher Disease

Gaucher disease is a rare, genetic, lipid storage disease characterized by a large liver and spleen. Furthermore, patients experience easy bruising, low red blood cell count, lung disease, and bone abnormalities. This disease can be seen as a cause of pancytopenia as the Gaucher cells sometimes invade the bone marrow and take over. This inhibits the bone marrow from producing the correct amount of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

Prohibiting the production of these brings the onset of pancytopenia and its complications. So, this rare, genetic condition can cause another rare disease to take hold of a patient. If Gaucher disease can be controlled and a bone marrow transplant performed, it could resolve the pancytopenia and restore the body's function of producing mature blood cells so the body can function properly.