| anaemia, mediterranean | Better known today as thalassaemia (or as beta thalassaemia or thalassaemia major).The clinical picture of this important type of anaemia was first described in 1925 by the paediatrician Thomas Benton Cooley. The name thalassaemia was coined by the Nobel Prise winning pathologist George Whipple and the professor of paediatrics Wm Bradford at U. Of Rochester because thalassa in Greek means the sea (like the Mediterrranean Sea) + -aemia means in the blood so thalassaemia means sea in the blood. Thalassaemia is not just one disease. It is a complex contingent of genetic (inherited) disorders all of which involve underproduction of haemoglobin, the indispensable molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen. The globin part of normal adult haemoglobin is made up of 2 alpha and 2 beta polypeptide chains. In beta thalassaemia, there is a mutation (change) in both beta globin chains leading to underproduction (or absence) of beta chains, underproduction of haemoglobin, and profound anaemia. The gene for beta thalassaemia is relatively frequent in people of Mediterranean origin (for example, from Italy and Greece). Children with this disease inherit one gene for it from each parent. The parents are carriers (heterozygotes) with just one thalassaemia gene, are said to have thalassaemia minor, and are essentially normal. Their children affected with beta thalassaemia seem entirely normal at birth because at birth we still have predominantly foetal haemoglobin which does not contain beta chains. The anaemia surfaces in the first few months after birth and becomes progressively more severe leading to pallor and easy fatiguability, failure to thrive (grow), bouts of fever (due to infections) and diarrhoea. Treatment based on blood transfusions is helpful but not curative. Gene therapy will, it is hoped, be applicable to this disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| anaemia, megaloblastic | Anaemia characterised by the presence of megaloblasts in the bone marrow. (12 Dec 1998) |
| anaemia, myelophthisic | Anaemia characterised by appearance of immature myeloid and nucleated erythrocytes in the peripheral blood, resulting from infiltration of the bone marrow by foreign or abnormal tissue. (12 Dec 1998) |
| anaemia, neonatal | The mildest form of erythroblastosis foetalis in which anaemia is the chief manifestation. (12 Dec 1998) |
| anaemia neonatorum | <haematology> A condition which develops in the foetus due to an incompatibility between the mother's blood type (RH factor) and the baby's. Maternal antibodies, which enter the foetal circulation during delivery attack the baby's red blood cells leading to haemolysis (rupture of the cells). Symptoms include an infant with an enlarged liver and spleen, swelling, jaundice and anaemia. (27 Sep 1997) |
| anaemia of chronic disease | <disease> A form of anaemia which develops as the result of a long-term infection or illness. Chronic diseases can interfere with red blood cell production in addition to shortening red blood cell life span in the body. Symptoms are largely due to the underlying disease. Haemoglobin and haematocrit are generally low. Iron studies may be low to normal. Red blood cell indices may usually normal. (27 Sep 1997) |
| anaemia, pernicious | A megaloblastic anaemia occurring in children but more commonly in later life, characterised by histamine-fast achlorhydria, in which the laboratory and clinical manifestations are based on malabsorption of vitamin b 12 due to a failure of the gastric mucosa to secrete adequate and potent intrinsic factor. (12 Dec 1998) |
| anaemia, refractory | Anaemia (a shortage of red blood cells) unresponsive to treatment. (12 Dec 1998) |
| anaemia, refractory, with excess of blasts | Chronic refractory anaemia with granulocytopenia, and/or thrombocytopenia. Myeloblasts and progranulocytes constitute 5 to 40 percent of the nucleated marrow cells. (12 Dec 1998) |
| anaemia, sideroblastic | Anaemia characterised by the presence of erythroblasts containing excessive deposits of iron in the marrow. (12 Dec 1998) |
| angiopathic haemolytic anaemia | A rare postpartum anaemia of unknown aetiology with uraemia and nephrosclerosis; may be a rare complication following use of contraceptive steroids. (05 Mar 2000) |
| antipernicious anaemia factor | <biochemistry> Member of the water soluble B vitamin group, important in the proper function of the nervous system and important in proper carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. (27 Sep 1997) |
| aplastic anaemia | <haematology> This form of anaemia occurs when the bone marrow ceases sufficient red and white blood cell production. It may be induced by exposures to high levels of toxic chemicals, radiation and certain drugs. It is generally unresponsive to specific therapy, often accompanied by granulocytopenia and thrombocytopenia, in which the bone marrow may not necessarily be hypocellular or hypoplastic but fails to produce adequate numbers of peripheral blood elements. The term actually is all inclusive and most probably encompasses several clinical syndromes. Origin: Gr. Haima = blood (29 Sep 1997) |
| asiderotic anaemia | Yellowing or bleaching of plant tissues due to the loss of chlorophyll or failure of chlorophyll synthesis. Symptomatic of many plant diseases, also of deficiencies of light or certain nutrients. (18 Nov 1997) |
| autoimmune haemolytic anaemia | <haematology> A condition that results from the cellular destruction (haemolysis) of red blood cells due to antibodies formed to components on the surface of the red blood cells. Origin: Gr. Haima = blood (02 Jan 1998) |