What happens in the blood in a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia?

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I understand the basics of leukemia. I know it happens in the bone marrow and it affects the genes and cell structures of red or white blood cells and/or platelets.

But how exactly does a person die from leukemia? Is it safe to assume that the body runs out of oxygen because the red blood cells become too abnormal to carry oxygen around the body?
"Deb" is mostly right - but liver and kidney function problems are not as common as bone marrow failure. It is not true that the body runs out of oxygen because the red blood cells become too abnormal to carry oxygen. The red cells can still transport oxygen in acute leukemia patients

I can explain this simply for you.
The immature malignant leukemia cells reproduce without control and crowd out the normal blood cell production in the bone marrow - so red cells - platelets - and the various types of normal infection fighting white cells - cannot be produced. It's like weeds overgowing in a garden and choking out the good plants.

Roughly 2/3's of our patients die from infections because they don't have normal bacterial and fungal fighting white blood cells. We can't transfuse normal white cells effectively.

About 1/3 of patients with acute leukemia die from bleeding due to low platelets. We can transfuse platelets, but it's hard to keep up when people make none of their own.

Oxygen transport is not usually the problem - except for the acute bleeds at the end. We can transfuse red blood cells effectively.

So why can we transfuse red cells so much more effectively than platelets or white blood cells? Normal red cells last some 120 days. Platelets in healthy people last maybe 10 days at best - though transfused platelets usually only last a day or two. Bacteria and fungal infection fighting neutrophils (white blood cells) last a matter of hours. They need to be made daily by the bone marrow. It's difficult to harvest enough normal white cells from donors to transfuse and make a significant difference to help patients.

Bottom line - infections end the lives of most leukemia patients - bacterial, fungal, viral, or all of the above.  (+ info)

Vernal conjunctivitis-All mast cell stabilizer failed except steroid.Steroid side effect started.Nowwhat to do

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The patirnt is a boy of 7 yrs.He is suffering for the last 3 months.All drugs failed except steroid.But now steroid is raising his IOP.What to do now ?
See an opthamologist or get a second opinion. Steroids should not be used in the eye for any long period of time. It may not be too late to reverse the effects..  (+ info)

Is there a difference in white blood cells produced by leukemia and ones produced regularly?

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Like, is there a major difference in the cell makeup when it is produced by leukemia when the cell is unnecesary.
Yes.
The biggest is that the ones from leukemia are cancer cells- they therefore have "powers" not normally possessed by your normal cells. The biggest issue is their growth and survival is uncontrolled, unlike your normal ones which obey many signals to control growth.
They also mark differently frequently in terms of types of proteins expressed on cell surface as well as internally within the cell.
In most cases, they do not function very well in infection fighting (what they are usually doing).

Blessings  (+ info)

What test is taken to diagnose Leukemia?

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Just a little worried and I want to be safe. My wife fainted and she has a white blood cell count of 17 and she is away from home and has been in the hospital for the past 5 hours. They did a blood test and CT scan and they said that everything is fine.

So should we do a checkup soon to make sure the doctors don't miss anything? Can they catch Leukemia through a CT scan or through a blood test? Or is the test needed a specialized one?

Thanks for your answers.
ohhhh, definately,, if she had it, it would have showed on a blood test
my aunty has leaukemia so i get paranoid too when i feel tired
the last test i had i asked the dr if i could have L too, and he said, ""the blood test would definately have showed it up""
so according to my dr ur wife is fine, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  (+ info)

I have just been diagnosed with Systemic Mast Cell Disease.?

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Does anyone out there know of someone I might be able to chat with. I have some questions about my treatment plan.
You can do a search for support groups.

http://tmsforacure.org/patientinfo.shtml  (+ info)

anyone else out there have t-cell lgl leukemia?

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i am 44 and was diagnosed with t-cell lgl leukemia 2 months ago. the Dr's. found out when my spleen almost burst (it was full of cancer) and they took it out. i had a bone marrow done and they found the leukemia. i am trying to get disability, the fatigue,nausea,bone pain,etc.. is keeping me from working. anyone out there trying to get disability for t-cell lgl leukemia? it is kind of a rare form of cancer.
That is definatly one of the rare forms of leukemia.

You should have social workers available to you at your hospital or treatment center. Ask to speak to them, and get them to help you apply for all this stuff. They know the ins and the outs and know what you need to do to.  (+ info)

When you Donate Blood, would you have a higher chance oof leukemia?

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Cancers cell, is due to many factors... Cancer cells is when cells keep growing abnormally. So let's say person A donated blood. Meaning that he has to regenerate more blood then usaul, after the blood is taken out of him. If he continues to give blood 2 time a year, will he have a high chance of leukemia?
No, his chance of leukemia is not affected at all by donating blood. Leukemia occurs when the bone marrow produces blood cells at an uncontrolled rate. These blood cells do not mature properly or at all and do not function. These faulty blood cells crowd the bones and cause bone pain and may cause bleeding problems when injury occurs since these faulty blood cells cannot properly clot. This does not happen from just losing blood - it happens almost as if it were a random mutation.

I hope this helped you out some. If you have any more questions feel free to email me ([email protected]) or IM me (crazycanuckj).  (+ info)

Is anyone familiar with "Hairy Cell Leukemia"?

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It is rare, Ive done my research but wondering if anyone has any personal or professional experience with it and the treatment of it. We have chosen not to do chemo at this time. So far our natural treatments have been great BUT the need for blood transfusions about every 6 weeks has been necessary. Does anyone know how to build your blood up to acceptable levels. The blood loss and counts are stabelizing but not really improving. The natural remedies focus mainly on immune system support and I wouldnt change a thing there, but Im missing something for the anemia. The doctor has no answer, just infuses when RBC gets down to 9 (should be atleast 14-18). Thanks
Hairy cell leukemia is a chronic lymphoid leukemia.
The most common type of leukemia in the Western world, CLL involves mature-appearing defective neoplastic lymphocytes with an abnormally long life span. The peripheral blood, bone marrow, spleen, and lymph nodes undergo leukemic infiltration. Symptoms may be absent or may include lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and nonspecific symptoms attributable to anemia (fatigue, malaise). Diagnosis is by examination of peripheral blood smear and bone marrow aspirate. Treatment, delayed until symptoms develop, is aimed at lengthening life and decreasing symptoms and may involve chlorambucil or fludarabine, prednisone, cyclophosphamide, and/or doxorubicin. Monoclonal antibodies, such as alemtuzumab and rituximab, are increasingly being used. Palliative radiation therapy is reserved for patients whose lymphadenopathy or splenomegaly interferes with other organs.
Please see the web pages for more details on Hairy cell leukemia.  (+ info)

Can a urinary tract infection be related to a more serious problem such as leukemia?

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I have had numorous UTIs' they always have a high white blood cell count with blood in the urine. I am anemic. I am concerned that there is a more serious underlying problem that I should have checked out.
There will be wbc in the urine during a uti because your immune sys is trying to kill the infection.
If you are getting them a lot, you need to look at what you are doing.
Do you urinate/clean after sex?
Are you cleaning well in the shower?
Are you taking a shower or bath? (sometimes bath water can travel back up the urethra)
Is there something in youjr diet causing this(large amounts of soda pop will give me one every time for example)


As far as being anemic, have you tried iron supplements?  (+ info)

What are the mast cell stabilizers?

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mast cell stabilizers like sodium chromoglycate stabilize mast cells from releasing mediators of inflammation (histamine ,NCF,ECF etc).these mediators are responsible for signs of allergy like sneezing,itching ,redness in the eyes. these are therefore used in cases of allergic conditions and asthamatic disorders.they are available as 2% drops and sprays.  (+ info)

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