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What is Anemia?
Source : Health Section ExpressNewsline.com
3/16/2005 - Anemia is caused by a deficiency of Hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a pigment made up of protein and iron. Hemoglobin’s main job is to pick up oxygen from the lungs and deposit into the red blood cells, which in turn carries the oxygen throughout the body. Without Protein and Iron you have a loss of Hemoglobin, which means you have a lost of oxygen for the red blood cells.
Anemia cab be caused by poor blood formation, the detruction of cells, or by too much loss of blood. And these conditions in turn may be caused by many different body disorders. So, when a doctor treats ‘anemia’, he has to know exactly which type he’s dealing with.
One form of anemia, for example, can be caused by an injury that results in great loss of blood. Other body fluids seep into the blood to make up the volume, the blood is diluted and the result may be anemia.
Another type pf anemia is caused by an increased destruction of red blood cells, which can be the result of several conditions in the body. In some cases it may be inherited or it may come from a transfusion of blood of the improper type, severe burns, allergies, or leukemia. Sometimes red blood cells are destroyed quickly by diseases that may be inherited like sickle cell anemia, abnormal spleen functions and severe hypertension.
One kind of anemia many of us know about is nutritional anemia. When people do not eat enough meats and vegetables they become anemic.
When blood cells can not be made at all there is a large deficiency of the proper vitamins needed. The main causes of this in not enough vitamin B12. There are problems that may cause the intestine not to absorb vitamins. When this happens, the person is most likely to become anemic. Malnutrition and drug and alcohol abuse takes a lot of vitamins and minerals from the body that is much needed. The body uses it’s stored supply, due to no new vitamins or minerals are entering the system.
There is a type of anemia that can be caused by exposure to toxic chemicals or radiation, which is called Aplastic Anemia.
Anemia can be extremely deadly. So take care of your body and give it what it needs to survive. Eat plenty of meats, dried beans, breads, citrus fruits and green vegetables to prevent future problems.
The symptoms of anemia are generally paleness, weakness, a tendency to tire easily, faintness, and difficulty in breathing. If the patient is able to get enough rest and diet, he is usually able to recover quite rapidly.
Mutations in TERT, the Gene for Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase, in Aplastic Anemia
Hiroki Yamaguchi, M.D., Rodrigo T. Calado, M.D., Ph.D., Hinh Ly, Ph.D., Sachiko Kajigaya, Ph.D., Gabriela M. Baerlocher, M.D., Stephen J. Chanock, M.D., Peter M. Lansdorp, M.D., Ph.D., and Neal S. Young, M.D.
Editorial
by Fibbe, W. E.
ABSTRACT
Background Mutations in TERC, the gene for the RNA component of telomerase, cause short telomeres in congenital aplastic anemia and in some cases of apparently acquired hematopoietic failure. We investigated whether mutations in genes for other components of telomerase also occur in aplastic anemia.
Methods We screened blood or marrow cells from 124 patients with apparently acquired aplastic anemia and 282 control subjects for sequence variations in the TERT, DKC1, NHP2, and NOP10 genes; an additional 81 patients and 246 controls were examined for genetic variations in TERT. Telomere lengths and the telomerase activity of peripheral-blood leukocytes were evaluated in patients carrying genetic variants. Identified mutations were transfected into telomerase-deficient cell lines to examine their effects and their mechanism of action on telomerase function.
Results Five heterozygous, nonsynonymous mutations (which cause an amino acid change in the corresponding protein) were identified in TERT, the gene for the telomerase reverse transcriptase catalytic enzyme, among seven unrelated patients. Leukocytes from these patients had short telomeres and low telomerase enzymatic activity. In three of these patients, the mutation was also detected in buccal mucosa cells. Family members carrying the mutations also had short telomeres and reduced telomerase activity but no evident hematologic abnormality. The results of coexpression of wild-type TERT and TERT with aplastic anemia–associated mutations in a telomerase-deficient cell line suggested that haploinsufficiency was the mechanism of telomere shortening due to TERT mutations.
Conclusions Heterozygous mutations in the TERT gene impair telomerase activity by haploinsufficiency and may be risk factors for marrow failure.
Source Information
From the Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (H.Y., R.T.C., S.K., N.S.Y.), and the Pediatric Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute (S.J.C.), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.; the Experimental Pathology Division, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta (H.L.); and the Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Research Centre (G.M.B., P.M.L.), and the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia (P.M.L.) — both in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Drs. Yamaguchi, Calado, and Ly contributed equally to this article.
Address reprint requests to Dr. Young at the Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Dr., Bldg. 10/CRC, Rm. 3E-5140, Bethesda, MD 20892-1202, or at youngns@mail.nih.gov.
Drive for marrow donors for 3 South Asians
08.15.2007 - LOS ANGELES: South Asia's Independence Day celebration will be the midpoint for a month of freedom drives scheduled from August 26 in the Los Angeles/ Southern California Area. Its focus would be to find marrow donor matches for a 28-year-old doctor, a 31-year-old entrepreneur and a 6-year-old girl, all of South Asian descent and all of whom need bone marrow transplants to save their lives.
The donor drive campaign was energized two months ago by family and friends of Vinay Chakravarthy, a 28-year-old physician born in California, who was diagnosed with life-threatening leukemia and urgently requires a bone marrow transplant. Sameer Bhatia, a 31-year-old entrepreneur, was diagnosed with the same type of blood cancer, Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), in May 2007 and joined forces with Team Vinay to build greater awareness of how South Asians can help. Urmi is a sweet six-year-old girl with Aplastic Anemia.
Vinay is being treated at a hospital in Boston. Sameer is being treated at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. "Our community can no longer afford to deny each other the gift of life," said Vinay's wife, Rashmi, pleading to the 12 identified donors who have been deemed "unavailable" to donate to her husband. "Most people do not realize when they are called to be a marrow or blood cell donor, they may be the only person who can save that patient's life."
Team Vinay has been working to ensure that lack of education, fear of the unknown, and myths about donation are removed. "We must reach out to the community and educate each other so no family suffers like we are suffering now," Rashmi emphasized. Vinay's diagnosis and highly visible nationwide campaign for a donor match has cast a spotlight on the critical shortage of bone marrow donors within the South Asian Community. Statistics from the National Marrow Donor Registry indicate that out of 6.6 million donors, only 100,000 are of South Asian origin.
A disheartening percentage for South Asians needing marrow transplants, since a patient's best chance for finding a match is from someone of their same ethnicity; and South Asians (people from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) have one of the lowest chances of finding a matching donor of any racial group.
There are two procedures to donate marrow/blood cells. The most commonly used procedure is similar to giving a blood donation, wherein only the blood stem cells are taken and the blood is given back to the donor. According to Michiko Kanenobu, recruitment supervisor at Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M), "Blood stem cell collection is used about 70% of the time in donation procedures. Marrow collection takes place 30% of the time.
To avoid giving false hope to patients who need a marrow transplant, donors should be committed and willing to undergo either donation procedure when called as a potential match." Marrow Donor Drive Registration Facts: Who: Healthy individuals, particularly of South Asian origin, between the ages of 18-60 may volunteer to be marrow donors. Participants should be willing to donate to anyone who needs a transplant if a match is found.
What: The procedure to register takes approximately 10 minutes and is not invasive, just a simple cheek swab of the mouth.
When: Freedom Drives for marrow donors are scheduled through the end of August. A month of University Drives across the country are being planned to start when new school years begin for college students at the end of August. See list for times and details. Visit http://www.helpvinay.org for future planned drives.
Where: Donor registration drives will be held in Lakewood, Los Angeles, Norwalk, Woodland Hills and Santa Monica. See list for drive site details and visit http://www.helpvinay.org for future planned drives. Information about donor heroes, donor sites and the marrow donation process can be found at http://www.helpvinay.org. Questions on the Freedom Drives and a planned month of University Drives to boost marrow donor registration or to volunteer to help with a future drive may be directed to: Kristeen Singh, 213-473-1669, ksingh@ltsc.org.
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