Aplastic Anemia Treatment
Aplastic Anemia being a rare disease has led to many deaths mostly due to lack of early diagnosis. However, if the symptoms of the disease are discovered early enough, it is possible to either control or cure the disease completely. Just like any other disease, the severity of the condition determines the type of treatment to be undertaken. Cases of Aplastic Anemia could be severe, mild or moderate. Severe Aplastic Anemia requires that the patient be hospitalized for specialized treatment because it is life-threatening. In the initial stages of treatment, the patient may have to undergo blood transfusion as he or she awaits treatment. Different methods of treating Aplastic Anemia are available although the most commonly known standard methods are blood transfusion, bone marrow transplant and Immunosuppressive therapy. These treatments can either be used with an aim of managing the disease for a considerable time or to completely cure the disease.
Blood transfusion for example does not cure the disease and multiple blood transfusions may be required in order to provide the much needed blood cells that the bone marrow is unable to supply. The use of a growth factor may however be considered to help the body produce more blood cells to reduce the number of transfusions. Bone Marrow transplant is known to cure Aplastic Anemia and recurrence is usually limited to one out of five cases. A bone marrow transplant will often require that the patient finds a bone marrow donor, usually a close relative or an unrelated but matching donor. A likely risk in this kind of treatment is where the patient’s system rejects the transplant which may lead to serious complications. Immunosuppresants are used where the body immune system is the one attacking cells produced in the bone marrow. This treatment acts by suppressing the immune system. Examples of drugs used as immunosuppressants are anti-thymocyte globulin and clysporine. The disadvantage of these drugs is that they may weaken the patient’s immune system and in case the patient stops usage their conditions are likely to recur. Other methods used for containing the problem include the use of bone marrow stimulants and the use of anti-retrovirals and antibiotics.
Research on Aplastic Anemia is still ongoing to come up with more effective treatments for the disease. High-Dose Cyclophosphamide is among the most recent treatment for Aplastic Anemia in the market which is still being used in clinical trial. This medication is well known for its low relapse rate and fewer side effects as opposed to other types of chemotherapy and Aplastic Anemia treatments. Cytoxan is also used to refer to Cyclophosphamide which is actually a generic name. Patients who receive this treatment have to combine it with GCSF which is a growth factor. The Cytoxan eliminates the lymphocytes while leaving the healthy stem cells untouched. The bone marrow can then start producing new healthy cells for the body at the normal rate.