Contents:
- Medical Video: Drug extends survival for myelofibrosis patients
- What is myelofibrosis?
- The difference between myelofibrosis and other blood cell formation disorders
- Symptoms experienced by people with myelofibrosis
- What causes myelofibrosis?
- Who is at risk of developing myelofibrosis?
Medical Video: Drug extends survival for myelofibrosis patients
The body has several ways to produce blood cells, one of which is by using bone marrow tissue. The tissue found in some of these bones is the place to produce the largest blood cells in addition to several other organs. Serious health problems will occur if the bone marrow tissue is disrupted, one of which is myelofibrosis.
What is myelofibrosis?
Myelofibrosis is a disorder, or it can also be categorized as blood cancer, which is caused by inflammation and formation fibrosis (scar tissue) in the bone marrow tissue, causing the blood cells to be abnormal. When a person experiences this disorder, the condition cannot be cured, and people with myelofibrosis will need special treatment.
This bone marrow abnormality causes most of the bone marrow tissue to be replaced with scar tissue due to inflammation. In a long time it will cause the bone marrow to malfunction because it cannot produce the various blood cells needed.
The main impact caused by myelofibrosis is a decrease in red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes) and platelets (platelets) in the body. This causes other blood-forming organs such as lymph and liver to work very hard to balance it.
The difference between myelofibrosis and other blood cell formation disorders
In addition to myelofibrosis there are several disorders of blood cell formation that involve bone marrow function, including leukemia and polycythemia vera.
Unlike myelofibrosis, leukemia is a blood cancer that causes damage to the bone marrow. Leukemia begins with the presence of blood cells with abnormalities produced by the spinal cord along with normal blood cells. Over time, leukemia blood cells will damage the bone marrow and consequently suppress normal blood cell formation. Both myelofibrosis and leukemia cause symptoms due to lack of blood cells and almost the same treatment.
When myelofibrosis causes the body to lack blood cells, a disorder of polycythemia vera causes the spinal cord to produce very large blood cells. This condition causes the body to overload red blood cells, but there is a possibility of causing excess white blood cells and platelets which can trigger a disruption of blood flow. Although there are significant differences, both are caused by genetic factors in the bone marrow.
Symptoms experienced by people with myelofibrosis
Each blood cell has a specific function so that the lack of one of the three causes its own symptoms:
- Due to lack of red blood cells - causes a decrease in oxygen transport in the bloodstream, which triggers anemia, a feeling of weakness, difficulty breathing, fatigue and dizziness. Patients also may feel pain in the bones.
- Due to lack of white blood cells - decrease in immunity is the main thing that might be experienced so that the body is more susceptible to disease.
- As a result of platelet deficiency - lack of platelets causes hard blood to clot so that the body will have more difficulty healing open wounds.
Because the bone marrow experiences additional blood-producing organ problems such as the liver, spleen, and the lungs and lymph nodes experience more work to produce blood. This condition of course will be dangerous for the body because it can cause enlargement of organs, especially the lymph organs. If this happens, it will cause pain from the inside, especially in the abdomen.
Although there are many symptoms that can be experienced by patients, it can be disguised as there is no interference experienced by patients with myelofibrosis. Diagnosis is often found during routine blood tests. However, people with myelofibrosis are very likely to experience anemia and fatigue or weakness that is unknown. Other symptoms can also be fever, weight loss, itching, and sweating very much at night.
What causes myelofibrosis?
Genetic abnormalities are the main thing that triggers inflammatory disorders and the growth of abnormal scar tissue in the bone marrow. There are three gene mutations that can cause this condition including JAK2, CALR and MI. These three genetic codes can change or mutate with age. Therefore, this is not passed on from parents and sufferers will not reduce the condition to their children.
Who is at risk of developing myelofibrosis?
Basically, all good people can experience this, abnormalities can begin and occur at any age, but are often found in the elderly. Myelofibrosis can occur for the first time (primary) because genetic mutations or triggered from other blood cancer conditions such as leukemia will increase a person's risk of experiencing this disorder. Exposure to strong radioactive materials and chemical poisons benzene and toluene can also cause genetic mutations of the causes of myelofibrosis.
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