Hematology

Anemia is the low haemoglobin content in the body below the normal range. Many causes are attributed for the development of anemia. One of the major factors is the deficiency of iron. The other major factor is either the deficiency of vitamin B12or the deficiency in its absorption. Folate deficiency can also cause anemia.

It depends on the cancer and the stage at which it is detected. Blood cancers are liquid tumors and generally easier to treat than the solid tumors. Know more about blood cancer treatment with Mediflam. 

Blood has got many factors that help in the coagulation process. If you are on anticoagulant medication, you should immediately see your doctor who will make the necessary modifications. If the blood doesn’t stop by itself, you might be deficient in one or more factors that take part in the coagulation process. This disease is generally known as haemophilia. 

Aplastic anemia refers to a syndrome of chronic primary hematopoietic failure and attendant pancytopenia (anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia). In the majority of patients, autoimmune mechanisms are suspected, but inherited or acquired abnormalities of hematopoietic stem cells also contribute in a subset of patients.

Thalassemia is a genetically heterogeneous disorder caused by germline mutations that decrease the synthesis of either α-globin or β-globin, leading to anemia, tissue hypoxia and red cell hemolysis related to the imbalance in globin chain synthesis. Thalassemia is endemic in the Mediterranean basin (thalassa means “sea” in Greek) as well as the Middle East, tropical Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Asia, and in aggregate is among the most common inherited disorders of humans.

Sickle cell disease is a common hereditary hemoglobinopathy caused by a point mutation in β-globin that promotes the polymerization of deoxygenated hemoglobin, leading to red cell distortion, hemolyticanemia, microvascular obstruction, and ischemic tissue damage. The major pathologic manifestations—chronic hemolysis, microvascular occlusions, and tissue damage—all stem from the tendency of HbS molecules to stack into polymers when deoxygenated.

Bone marrow transplant is required when the person’s bone marrow is not able to produce blood cells normally because the marrow is destroyed by disease, infection or chemotherapy. The procedure involves transplantation of blood stem cells which travel to the bone marrow and produce blood cells along with promoting the growth of new marrow. Bone marrow transplant is also suggested in a variety of leukemia treatments.

The usual diseases that require bone marrow transplant are :

• Aplastic anemia
• Cancers that affect the marrow such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma
• Sickle cell anemia
• Thalassemia
• Congenital neutropenia

The common theme among the various causes of megaloblasticanemia is an impairment of DNA synthesis that leads to ineffective hematopoiesis and distinctive morphologic changes, including abnormally large erythroid precursors and red cells.

The success of bone marrow transplant depends on how closely the donor and the recipient match genetically. Usual recovery time is 3 months. However, it may take upto a year to recover fully. Other factors that affect the recovery process are:

• Condition being treated
• Site of transplant
• Chemotherapy and radiation

Two types of transplants are possible:

• Autologous transplants where the person’s own stem cells are used
• Allogenic transplants where the donor stem cells are used

India is home to some of the best hospitals and hematologists. Some of the hospitals are:

• BLK super specialty hospital
• Indraprastha Apollo hospitals
• Artemis hospital
• Medanta the Medicity
• Max super specialty hospital
• Fortis memorial hospital
• Apollo hospital, Chennai
• Aster Medicity
• Dharmashila Narayanasuper speciality hospital
• BGS Gleneagles hospital, Bangalore
• Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital, Mumbai
• Gleneagles global health city
• Wockhardt hospitals, North Mumbai

It is a blood clotting disorder where the blood doesn’t clot due to deficiency of clotting factors.