The new techniques of genetic analysis have made it possible to identify many new forms of inherited thrombocytopenias (IT) and study large series of patients. In recent years, this has changed the ...view of IT, highlighting the fact that, in contrast to previous belief, most patients have a modest bleeding diathesis. On the other hand, it has become evident that some of the mutations responsible for platelet deficiency predispose the patient to serious, potentially lifethreatening diseases. Today's vision of IT is, therefore, very different from that of the past and the therapeutic approach must take these changes into account while also making use of the new therapies that have become available in the meantime. This review, the first devoted entirely to IT therapy, discusses how to prevent bleeding in those patients who are exposed to this risk, how to treat it if it occurs, and how to manage the serious illnesses to which patients with IT may be predisposed.
Eltrombopag is a small, non-peptide thrombopoietin mimetic that has been approved for increasing platelet count not only in immune thrombocytopenia and Hepatitis C virus-related thrombocytopenia, but ...also in aplastic anemia. Moreover, this drug is under investigation for increasing platelet counts in myelodysplastic syndromes. Despite current clinical practice, the mechanisms governing eltrombopag's impact on human hematopoiesis are largely unknown, in part due to the impossibility of using traditional in vivo models. To investigate eltrombopag's impact on megakaryocyte functions, we employed our established in vitro model for studying hematopoietic stem cell differentiation combined with our latest 3-dimensional silk-based bone marrow tissue model. Results demonstrated that eltrombopag favors human megakaryocyte differentiation and platelet production in a dose-dependent manner. These effects are accompanied by increased phosphorylation of AKT and ERK1/2 signaling molecules, which have been proven to be crucial in regulating physiologic thrombopoiesis. These data further clarify the different mechanisms of action of eltrombopag when compared to romiplostim, which, as we have shown, induces the proliferation of immature megakaryocytes rather than platelet production, due to the unbalanced activation of AKT and ERK1/2 signaling molecules. In conclusion, our research clarifies the underlying mechanisms that govern the action of eltrombopag on megakaryocyte functions and its relevance in clinical practice.
Several hundreds of studies recently investigated mean platelet volume (MPV) as measured by electronic cell counters in a wide variety of acquired diseases, and most of them found that platelet size ...was significantly increased with respect to healthy subjects. On this basis, it has been suggested that MPV can be used for diagnostic purposes. Moreover, investigation of subjects with arterial thrombosis not only revealed that their platelets were larger than those of controls, but also found that a high MPV predicted poor prognosis. Despite the large amount of available data, the pathogenesis of increased platelet size in these conditions is unclear. In particular, we do not know whether the increased platelet size is the cause or the consequence of thrombosis. Differences in MPV between patients and controls are usually very small and they reach the statistical significance because of the large number of investigated patients and the standardized methodology for MPV measurement. In real life, the wide variability of MPV possibly due to platelet count, sex, age, and ethnicity, as well as the very poor standardization of the methodologies used for MPV measurement, makes it impossible to decide whether an individual patient has normal or instead slightly increased MPV. So, MPV has presently no role in making diagnosis and defining prognosis in any acquired illness.
Although several studies demonstrated that platelet count is higher in women, decreases with age, and is influenced by genetic background, most clinical laboratories still use the reference interval ...150-400×10(9) platelets/L for all subjects. The present study was to identify age- and sex-specific reference intervals for platelet count.
We analysed electronic records of subjects enrolled in three population-based studies that investigated inhabitants of seven Italian areas including six geographic isolates. After exclusion of patients with malignancies, liver diseases, or inherited thrombocytopenias, which could affect platelet count, reference intervals were estimated from 40,987 subjects with the non parametric method computing the 2.5° and 97.5° percentiles.
Platelet count was similar in men and women until the age of 14, but subsequently women had steadily more platelets than men. The number of platelets decreases quickly in childhood, stabilizes in adulthood, and further decreases in oldness. The final result of this phenomenon is that platelet count in old age was reduced by 35% in men and by 25% in women compared with early infancy. Based on these findings, we estimated reference intervals for platelet count ×10(9)/L in children (176-452), adult men (141-362), adult women (156-405), old men (122-350) and, old women (140-379). Moreover, we calculated an "extended" reference interval that takes into account the differences in platelet count observed in different geographic areas.
The age-, sex-, and origin-related variability of platelet count is very wide, and the patient-adapted reference intervals we propose change the thresholds for diagnosing both thrombocytopenia and thrombocytosis in Italy.
The great advances in the knowledge of inherited thrombocytopenias (ITs) made since the turn of the century have significantly changed our view of these conditions. To date, ITs encompass 45 ...disorders with different degrees of complexity of the clinical picture and very wide variability in the prognosis. They include forms characterized by thrombocytopenia alone, forms that present with other congenital defects, and conditions that predispose to acquire additional diseases over the course of life. In this review, we recapitulate the clinical features of ITs with emphasis on the forms predisposing to additional diseases. We then discuss the key issues for a rational approach to the diagnosis of ITs in clinical practice. Finally, we aim to provide an updated and comprehensive guide to the treatment of ITs, including the management of hemostatic challenges, the treatment of severe forms, and the approach to the manifestations that add to thrombocytopenia.
Summary
MYH9‐related disease (MYH9‐RD) is one of the most frequent forms of inherited thrombocytopenia. It is transmitted in an autosomal dominant fashion and derives from mutations of MYH9, the gene ...for the heavy chain of non‐muscle myosin IIA. Patients present with congenital macrothrombocytopenia with mild bleeding tendency and may develop kidney dysfunction, deafness and cataracts later in life. The term MYH9‐RD encompasses four autosomal‐dominant thrombocytopenias that were previously described as distinct disorders, namely May‐Hegglin Anomaly, Sebastian, Fechtner and Epstein syndromes. Thrombocytopenia is usually mild and derives from complex defects of megakaryocyte maturation and platelet formation. It is easily diagnosed, in that the presence of giant platelets in peripheral blood raises the suspicion of MYH9‐RD and a simple immunofluorescence test on blood films confirms the diagnostic hypothesis. However, genotype/phenotype correlations have been recognized and mutation screening is therefore required to define the risk of acquiring extra‐haematological defects. Results of a small clinical study suggested that a non‐peptide thrombopoietin mimetic might greatly benefit both thrombocytopenia and bleeding tendency of MYH9‐RD patients.
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