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Recombinant granulocyte-colony stimulating factor preparations, such as filgrastim can be effective in patients with congenital forms of neutropenia including severe congenital neutropenia and cyclic neutropenia, the amount needed (dosage) varies considerably (depending on the individual's condition) to stabilize the neutrophil count. Guidelines for neutropenia regarding diet are currently being studied.
Most cases of neonatal neutropenia are temporary. Antibiotic prophylaxis is not recommended because of the possibility of encouraging the development of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains.
Neutropenia can be treated with hematopoietic Growth Factors, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). These are cytokines (inflammation-inducing chemicals) that are present naturally in the body. These factors are used regularly in cancer treatment with adults and children. The factors promote neutrophil recovery following anticancer therapy.
The administration of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) has had some success in treating neutropenias of alloimmune and autoimmune origins with a response rate of about 50%. Blood transfusions have not been effective.
This form usually lessens in severity within two years of diagnosis.
The use of prophylactic antibiotics has been proposed.
See article at BioMed Central site:
Generally, patients with febrile neutropenia are treated with empirical antibiotics until the neutrophil count has recovered (absolute neutrophil counts greater than 500/mm) and the fever has abated; if the neutrophil count does not improve, treatment may need to continue for two weeks or occasionally more. In cases of recurrent or persistent fever, an antifungal agent should be added.
Guidelines issued in 2002 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommend the use of particular combinations of antibiotics in specific settings; mild low-risk cases may be treated with a combination of oral amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ciprofloxacin, while more severe cases require cephalosporins with activity against "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" (e.g. cefepime), or carbapenems (imipenem or meropenem). A subsequent meta-analysis published in 2006 found cefepime to be associated with more negative outcomes, and carbapenems (while causing a higher rate of pseudomembranous colitis) were the most straightforward in use.
In 2010, updated guidelines were issued by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, recommending use of cefepime, carbapenems (meropenem and imipenem/cilastatin), or piperacillin/tazobactam for high-risk patients and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ciprofloxacin for low-risk patients. Patients who do not strictly fulfill the criteria of low-risk patients should be admitted to the hospital and treated as high-risk patients.
Regular administration of exogenous granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (filgrastim) clinically improves neutrophil counts and immune function and is the mainstay of therapy, although this may increase risk for myelofibrosis and acute myeloid leukemia in the long term.
Over 90% of SCN responds to treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (filgrastim), which has significantly improved survival.
In developing new chemotherapeutics(化疗方法),the efficacy of the drug against the disease is often balanced against the likely level of myelotoxicity the drug will cause. In-vitro colony forming cell (CFC) assays using normal human bone marrow grown in appropriate semi-solid media such as ColonyGEL have been shown to be useful in predicting the level of clinical myelotoxicity a certain compound might cause if administered to humans. These predictive in-vitro assays reveal effects the administered compounds have on the bone marrow progenitor cells that produce the various mature cells in the blood and can be used to test the effects of single drugs or the effects of drugs administered in combination with others.
Treatment of this disorder involves treatment of the underlying cancer.
If left untreated, patients with fever and absolute neutrophil count <500 have a mortality of up to 70% within 24 hours. The prognosis of neutropenia depends on the cause. Antibiotic agents have improved the prognosis for individuals with severe neutropenia. Neutropenic fever in individuals treated for cancer has a mortality of 4-30%.
Bone marrow suppression due to azathioprine can be treated by changing to another medication such as mycophenolate mofetil (for organ transplants) or other disease-modifying drugs in rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease.
The Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) risk index can be used to identify low-risk patients (score ≥21 points) for serious complications of febrile neutropenia (including death, intensive care unit admission, confusion, cardiac complications, respiratory failure, renal failure, hypotension, bleeding, and other serious medical complications). The score was developed to select patients for therapeutic strategies that could potentially be more convenient or cost-effective. A prospective trial demonstrated that a modified MASCC score can identify patients with febrile neutropenia at low risk of complications, as well.
In contrast, the Clinical Index of Stable Febrile Neutropenia (CISNE) score is specific of patients with solid tumors and seemingly stable episodes. CISNE is able to discriminate groups of patients who are at low, intermediate, and high risk of complications in this population. With the CISNE, the complication rate was determined to be 1.1% for low-risk patients, 6.2% for intermediate-risk patients, and 36.0% for high-risk patients. The prime purpose of this model was to avoid complications from an early hospital release. On the contrary, CISNE should not be used so much to select low-risk patients for outpatient treatment.
Recent research has suggested that hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may be a treatment option for patients with XLT despite associated risks. Other studies have shown that treatment with corticosteroids or intravenous immunoglobulin in any dose or duration may have a beneficial impact on platelet counts, although transiently. Furthermore, research has shown that splenectomy may not be a good treatment option for patients with XLT as it increases the risk of severe infections. This same research showed that patients with XLT have a high overall survival rate but they are at risk for severe life-threatening complications associated with this disorder, such as serious bleeding events and malignancies.
Recent studies have found that the life expectancy of males with XLT is not significantly affected. Individuals with XLT typically experience milder symptoms than those with other "WAS"-related disorders. For this reason, the long term prognosis for individuals with XLT is generally positive as long as symptoms are managed appropriately. Enhanced treatment methods in the past two decades have significantly improved the prognosis as well.
There is no real treatment for Felty's syndrome, rather the best method in management of the disease is to control the underlying rheumatoid arthritis. Immunosuppressive therapy for RA often improves granulocytopenia and splenomegaly; this finding reflects the fact that Felty's syndrome is an immune-mediated disease. A major challenge in treating FS is recurring infection caused by neutropenia. Therefore, in order to decide upon and begin treatment, the cause and relationship of neutropenia with the overall condition must be well understood. Most of the traditional medications used to treat RA have been used in the treatment of Felty's syndrome. No well-conducted, randomized, controlled trials support the use of any single agent. Most reports on treatment regimens involve small numbers of patients.
Splenectomy may improve neutropenia in severe disease.
Use of rituximab and leflunomide have been proposed.
Use of gold therapy has also been described.
Prognosis is dependent on the severity of symptoms and the patient's overall health.
Untreated, severe aplastic anemia has a high risk of death. Modern treatment, by drugs or stem cell transplant, has a five-year survival rate that exceeds 85%, with younger age associated with higher survival.
Survival rates for stem cell transplant vary depending on age and availability of a well-matched donor. Five-year survival rates for patients who receive transplants have been shown to be 82% for patients under age 20, 72% for those 20–40 years old, and closer to 50% for patients over age 40. Success rates are better for patients who have donors that are matched siblings and worse for patients who receive their marrow from unrelated donors.
Older people (who are generally too frail to undergo bone marrow transplants), and people who are unable to find a good bone marrow match, undergoing immune suppression have five-year survival rates of up to 75%.
Relapses are common. Relapse following ATG/ciclosporin use can sometimes be treated with a repeated course of therapy. In addition, 10-15% of severe aplastic anemia cases evolve into MDS and leukemia. According to a study, for children who underwent immunosuppressive therapy, about 15.9% of children who responded to immunosuppressive therapy encountered relapse.
Milder disease can resolve on its own.
The one known curative treatment is allogeneic stem cell transplantation, but this approach involves significant risks.
Other treatment options are largely supportive, and do not alter the course of the disorder (with the possible exception of ruxolitinib, as discussed below). These options may include regular folic acid, allopurinol or blood transfusions. Dexamethasone, alpha-interferon and hydroxyurea (also known as hydroxycarbamide) may play a role.
Lenalidomide and thalidomide may be used in its treatment, though peripheral neuropathy is a common troublesome side-effect.
Frequent blood transfusions may also be required. If the patient is diabetic and is taking a sulfonylurea, this should be stopped periodically to rule out drug-induced thrombocytopenia.
Splenectomy is sometimes considered as a treatment option for patients with myelofibrosis in whom massive splenomegaly is contributing to anaemia because of hypersplenism, particularly if they have a heavy requirement for blood transfusions. However, splenectomy in the presence of massive splenomegaly is a high-risk procedure, with a mortality risk as high as 3% in some studies.
In November 2011, the FDA approved ruxolitinib (Jakafi) as a treatment for intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis. Ruxolitinib serves as an inhibitor of JAK 1 and 2.
The "New England Journal of Medicine" (NEJM) published results from two Phase III studies of ruxolitinib. These data showed that the treatment significantly reduced spleen volume, improved symptoms of myelofibrosis, and was associated with improved overall survival compared to placebo.
The treatment of primary immunodeficiencies depends foremost on the nature of the abnormality. Somatic treatment of primarily genetic defects is in its infancy. Most treatment is therefore passive and palliative, and falls into two modalities: managing infections and boosting the immune system.
Reduction of exposure to pathogens may be recommended, and in many situations prophylactic antibiotics or antivirals may be advised.
In the case of humoral immune deficiency, immunoglobulin replacement therapy in the form of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) or subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIG) may be available.
In cases of autoimmune disorders, immunosuppression therapies like corticosteroids may be prescribed.
Treating immune-mediated aplastic anemia involves suppression of the immune system, an effect achieved by daily medicine intake, or, in more severe cases, a bone marrow transplant, a potential cure. The transplanted bone marrow replaces the failing bone marrow cells with new ones from a matching donor. The multipotent stem cells in the bone marrow reconstitute all three blood cell lines, giving the patient a new immune system, red blood cells, and platelets. However, besides the risk of graft failure, there is also a risk that the newly created white blood cells may attack the rest of the body ("graft-versus-host disease"). In young patients with an HLA matched sibling donor, bone marrow transplant can be considered as first-line treatment, patients lacking a matched sibling donor typically pursue immunosuppression as a first-line treatment, and matched unrelated donor transplants are considered a second-line therapy.
Medical therapy of aplastic anemia often includes a course of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and several months of treatment with ciclosporin to modulate the immune system. Chemotherapy with agents such as cyclophosphamide may also be effective but has more toxicity than ATG. Antibody therapy, such as ATG, targets T-cells, which are believed to attack the bone marrow. Corticosteroids are generally ineffective, though they are used to ameliorate serum sickness caused by ATG. Normally, success is judged by bone marrow biopsy 6 months after initial treatment with ATG.
One prospective study involving cyclophosphamide was terminated early due to a high incidence of mortality, due to severe infections as a result of prolonged neutropenia.
In the past, before the above treatments became available, patients with low leukocyte counts were often confined to a sterile room or bubble (to reduce risk of infections), as in the case of Ted DeVita.
Cyclic neutropenia (or cyclical neutropenia) is a form of neutropenia, a white blood cell deficiency, that tends to occur every three weeks and lasts three to six days at a time due to changing rates of cell production by the bone marrow.
Cyclic neutropenia is the result of autosomal dominantly inherited mutations in ELA2, the gene encoding neutrophil elastase,
and is estimated to occur in 1 in 1 million individuals worldwide. Treatment includes G-CSF and usually improves after puberty.
Myelokathexis is a congenital disorder of the white blood cells that causes severe, chronic leukopenia (a reduction of circulating white blood cells) and neutropenia (a reduction of neutrophil granulocytes). The disorder is believed to be inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. Myelokathexis refers to retention (kathexis) of neutrophils in the bone marrow (myelo). The disorder shows prominent neutrophil morphologic abnormalities.
Myelokathexis is amongst the diseases treated with bone marrow transplantation and cord blood stem cells.
WHIM syndrome is a very rare variant of severe congenital neutropenia that presents with warts, hypogammaglobunemia, infections, and myelokathexis. A gain in function mutation resulting in a truncated form of CXCR4 is believe to be its cause.
Hematopoietic ulcers are those occurring with sickle cell anemia, congenital hemolytic anemia, polycythemia vera, thrombocytopenic purpura, macroglobulinemia, and cryoglobulinemia.
Bone marrow transplant may be possible for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency and other severe immunodeficiences.
Virus-specific T-Lymphocytes (VST) therapy is used for patients who have received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation that has proven to be unsuccessful. It is a treatment that has been effective in preventing and treating viral infections after HSCT. VST therapy uses active donor T-cells that are isolated from alloreactive T-cells which have proven immunity against one or more viruses. Such donor T-cells often cause acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a subject of ongoing investigation. VSTs have been produced primarily by ex-vivo cultures and by the expansion of T-lymphocytes after stimulation with viral antigens. This is carried out by using donor-derived antigen-presenting cells. These new methods have reduced culture time to 10–12 days by using specific cytokines from adult donors or virus-naive cord blood. This treatment is far quicker and with a substantially higher success rate than the 3–6 months it takes to carry out HSCT on a patient diagnosed with a primary immunodeficiency. T-lymphocyte therapies are still in the experimental stage; few are even in clinical trials, none have been FDA approved, and availability in clinical practice may be years or even a decade or more away.
Certain medications can alter the number and function of white blood cells.
Medications that can cause leukopenia include clozapine, an antipsychotic medication with a rare adverse effect leading to the total absence of all granulocytes (neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils). The antidepressant and smoking addiction treatment drug bupropion HCl (Wellbutrin) can also cause leukopenia with long-term use. Minocycline, a commonly prescribed antibiotic, is another drug known to cause leukopenia. There are also reports of leukopenia caused by divalproex sodium or valproic acid (Depakote), a drug used for epilepsy (seizures), mania (with bipolar disorder) and migraine.
The anticonvulsant drug, lamotrigine, has been associated with a decrease in white blood cell count.
The FDA monograph for metronidazole states that this medication can also cause leukopenia, and the prescriber information suggests a complete blood count, including differential cell count, before and after, in particular, high-dose therapy.
Immunosuppressive drugs, such as sirolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus, ciclosporin, leflunomide and TNF inhibitors, have leukopenia as a known complication. Interferons used to treat multiple sclerosis, such as interferon beta-1a and interferon beta-1b, can also cause leukopenia.
Chemotherapy targets cells that grow rapidly, such as tumors, but can also affect white blood cells, because they are characterized by bone marrow as rapid growing. A common side effect of cancer treatment is neutropenia, the lowering of neutrophils (a specific type of white blood cell).
Decreased white blood cell count may be present in cases of arsenic toxicity.
In patients that have no symptoms of infection, management consists of close monitoring with serial blood counts, withdrawal of the offending agent (e.g., medication), and general advice on the significance of fever.
Transfusion of granulocytes would have been a solution to the problem. However, granulocytes live only ~10 hours in the circulation (for days in spleen or other tissue), which gives a very short-lasting effect. In addition, there are many complications of such a procedure.
Harris platelet syndrome (HPS) is the most common inherited giant platelet disorder.
Monocytopenia is a form of leukopenia associated with a deficiency of monocytes. The causes of monocytopenia include: acute infections, stress, treatment with glucocorticoids, aplastic anemia, hairy cell leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, treatment with myelotoxic drugs and genetic syndromes, as for example MonoMAC syndrome.
It has been proposed as a measure to predict neutropenia, though some research indicates that it is less effective than lymphopenia.
Once a diagnosis is made, each individual's treatment is based on an individual’s clinical condition. Hematopoietic stem cell transplant is a possible treatment of this condition but its effectiveness is unproven.
Additionally, magnesium supplementation is a promising potential treatment for XMEN. One of the consequences of loss of "MAGT1" function is a decreased level of unbound intracellular Mg2+. This decrease leads to loss of expression of an immune cell receptor called "NKG2D", which is involved in EBV-immunity. Remarkably, Mg2+ supplementation can restore "NKG2D" expression and other functions that are abnormal in patients with XMEN. Early evidence suggests continuous oral magnesium threonate supplementation is safe and well tolerated. Nonetheless, further research is needed to evaluate the use of Mg2+ as a treatment for XMEN. It remains unclear if such supplementation will protect against the development of lymphoma in patients with XMEN. Investigators at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the US National Institutes of Health currently have clinical protocols to study new approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder.