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Treatment of asymptomatic congenital dysfibrinogenemia depends in part on the expectations of developing bleeding and/or thrombotic complications as estimated based on the history of family members with the disorder and, where available, determination of the exact mutation causing the disorder plus the propensity of the particular mutation type to develop these complications. In general, individuals with this disorder require regular follow-up and multidiscipline management prior to surgery, pregnancy, and giving childbirth. Women with the disorder appear to have an increased rate of miscarriages and all individuals with fibrinogen activity in clotting tests below 0.5 grams/liter are prone to bleeding and spontaneous abortions. Women with multiple miscarriages and individuals with excessively low fibrinogen activity levels should be considered for prophylaxis therapy with fibrinogen replacement during pregnancy, delivery, and/or surgery.
Diagnosis of acquired dysfibrinogenemia uses the same laboratory tests that are used for congenital dysfibrinogenemia plus evidence for an underlying causative disease.
When a problem of fibrinogen is suspected, the following tests can be ordered:
- PT
- PTT
- Fibrinogen level in blood (total and clottable)
- Reptilase time
- Thrombin time
Blood fibrinogen levels of less than 0.1 g/L and prolonged bleeding test times are indicators of an individual having afibrinogenemia.
The most common treatments are transfusions of cryoprecipitate or blood plasma to help with bleeding episodes or prior to surgery. There are no known cures or forms of holistic care to date. Most complications arise from the symptoms of the disorder. As there is not much data out on the life expectancy of an individual with afibrinogenemia, it is difficult to determine the average lifespan. However, the leading cause of death thus far is linked to CNS hemorrhage and postoperative bleeding.
The diagnosis of hypofibrinogenemia is indicated in individuals who have low levels (<1.5 gram/liter) of plasma fibrinogen as determined by both immunological (e.g. immunoelectrophoresis and (i.e. able to be clotted) methods. The ratio of immunological to functional fibrinogen masses should be ~1.0 as assayed with partial thromboplastin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, and reptilase time tests. These tests are used to distinguish hypofibrinogenemia from hypodysfibrinogenemia, a typically more severe disorder in which plasma fibrinogen levels are low and this fibrinogen includes at least in part dysfunctional fibrinogen. Immunological/functional fibrinogen ratios for the plasma of individuals with hypodysfibrinogenemia for all the cited tests are usually <0.7. Where available, further analyses are recommended; these include analyses of the fibrinogen genes and protein chains for mutations and specialized studies of individuals in vitro induced blood clots for stability and susceptibility to lyses.
The diagnosis of fibrin storage disease requires liver biopsy and the finding of immunologically detectable fibrinogen inclusion bodies in hepatocytes.
Recommended treatment of asymptomatic congenital hypofibrinogenemia depends in part on the expectations of developing bleeding and/or thrombotic complications as indicated by the personal history of the afflicted individual and family members. Where possible, determination of the exact mutation causing the disorder and the propensity of this mutation type to develop these complications may be helpful. Individuals with fibrinogen levels >1.0 gram/liter typically do not develop bleeding or thrombosis episodes. Individuals with fibrinogen levels of 0.5-1.0 grams/liter require fibrinogen supplementation preferably with a plasma-derived fibrinogen concentrate to maintain fibrinogen levels of >1 gram/liter prior to major surgery. Individuals with fibrinogen levels of 1 to 2 gram/liter at the end of pregnancy and during the postpartum period; b) > 1 gram/liter prior to major surgery; c) > 0.5 to 1 gram/liter during the first two trimesters of pregnancy; and d) >0.5 gram/liter prior to minor surgery. Tranexamic acid may be used in place of fibrinogen supplementation as prophylactic treatment prior to minor surgery and to treat minor bleeding episodes.
The diagnosis for hemophilia B can be done via the following tests/methods:
- Coagulation screening test
- Bleeding scores
- Coagulation factor assays
The differential diagnosis for this inherited condition is the following: hemophilia A, factor XI deficiency, von Willebrand disease, fibrinogen disorders and Bernard-Soulier syndrome
Fibrinogen disorders are set of hereditary or acquired abnormalities in the quantity and/or quality of circulating fibrinogens. The disorders may lead to pathological bleeding and/or blood clotting or the deposition of fibrinogen in the liver, kidneys, or other organs and tissues. These disorders include:
- Congenital afibrinogenemia, an inherited blood disorder in which blood does not clot normally due to the lack of fibrinogen; the disorder causes abnormal bleeding and thrombosis.
- Congenital hypofibrinogenemia, an inherited disorder in which blood may not clot normally due to reduced levels of fibrinogen; the disorder may cause abnormal bleeding and thrombosis.
- Fibringogen storage disease, a form of congenital hypofibrinogenemia in which specific hereditary mutations in fibrinogen cause it to accumulate in, and damage, liver cells. The disorder may lead to abnormal bleeding and thrombosis but also to cirrhosis.
- Congenital dysfibrinogenemia, an inherited disorder in which normal levels of fibrinogen composed at least in part of a dysfunctional fibrinogen may cause abnormal bleeding and thrombosis.
- Hereditary fibrinogen Aα-Chain amyloidosis, a form of dysfibrinogenemia in which certain fibrinogen mutations cause blood fibrinogen to accumulate in the kidney and cause one type of familial renal amyloidosis; the disorder is not associated with abnormal bleeding or thrombosis.
- Acquired dysfibrinogenemia, a disorder in which normal levels of fibrinogen are composed at least in part of a dysfunctional fibrinogen due to an acquired disorder (e.g. liver disease) that leads to the synthesis of an incorrectly glycosylated (i.e. wrong amount of sugar residues) added to an otherwise normal fibrinogen. The incorrectly glycosalated fibrinogen is dysfunctional and may cause pathological episodes of bleeding and/or blood clotting.
- Congenital hypodysfibrinogenemia, an inherited disorder in which low levels of fibrinogen composed at least in part of a dysfunctional fibrinogen may cause pathological episodes of bleeding or blood clotting.
- Cryofibrinogenemia, an acquired disorder in which fibrinogen precipitates at cold temperatures and may lead to the intravascular precipitation of fibrinogen, fibrin, and other circulating proteins thereby causing the infarction of various tissues and bodily extremities.
There are several groups where screening for PNH should be undertaken. These include patients with unexplained thrombosis who
are young, have thrombosis in an unusual site (e.g. intra-abdominal veins, cerebral veins, dermal veins), have any evidence of hemolysis (i.e. a raised LDH), or have a low red blood cell, white blood cell, or platelet count. Those who have a diagnosis of aplastic anemia should be screened annually.
PNH is rare, with an annual rate of 1-2 cases per million. The prognosis without disease-modifying treatment is 10–20 years. Many cases develop in people who have previously been diagnosed with aplastic anemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. The fact that PNH develops in MDS also explains why there appears to be a higher rate of leukemia in PNH, as MDS can sometimes transform into leukemia.
25% of female cases of PNH are discovered during pregnancy. This group has a high rate of thrombosis, and the risk of death of both mother and child are significantly increased (20% and 8% respectively).
Several other illnesses can present with a monoclonal gammopathy, and the monoclonal protein may be the first discovery before a formal diagnosis is made:
Studies suggest that prenatal care for mothers during their pregnancies can prevent congenital amputation. Knowing environmental and genetic risks is also important. Heavy exposure to chemicals, smoking, alcohol, poor diet, or engaging in any other teratogenic activities while pregnant can increase the risk of having a child born with a congenital amputation. Folic acid is a multivitamin that has been found to reduce birth defects.
For most cases the diagnosis for congenital amputation is not made until the infant is born. One procedure that is helpful in determining this condition in an infant is an ultrasound examination of a fetus when still in the mother's abdomen as it can reveal the absence of a limb. However, since ultrasounds are routine they may not pick up all the signs of some of the more subtle birth defects.
The most popular method of treatment for congenital amputation is having the child be fit for a prosthesis which can lead to normal development, so the muscles don't atrophy. If there is congenital amputation of the fingers, plastic surgery can be performed by using the big toe or second toes in place of the missing fingers of the hand.
In rare cases of amniotic banding syndrome, if diagnosed "in utero", fetal surgery may be considered to save a limb which is in danger of amputation.
Epidemiologically, the disorder usually develops slowly and is mainly observed in people over the age of 50. It may also develop as a side-effect of treatment with some drugs that target hematological disorders, such as polycythemia vera or chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Diagnosis of myelofibrosis is made on the basis of bone marrow biopsy. A physical exam of the abdomen may reveal enlargement of the spleen, the liver, or both.
Blood tests are also used in diagnosis. Primary myelofibrosis can begin with a blood picture similar to that found in polycythemia vera or chronic myelogenous leukemia. Most people with myelofibrosis have moderate to severe anemia. Eventually thrombocytopenia, a decrease of blood platelets develops. When viewed through a microscope, a blood smear will appear markedly abnormal, with presentation of pancytopenia, which is a reduction in the number of all blood cell types: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red blood cells may show abnormalities including bizarre shapes, such as teardrop-shaped cells, and nucleated red blood cell precursors may appear in the blood smear. (Normally, mature red blood cells in adults do not have a cell nucleus, and the presence of nucleated red blood cells suggests that immature cells are being released into the bloodstream in response to a very high demand for the bone marrow to produce new red blood cells.) Immature white cells are also seen in blood samples, and basophil counts are increased.
When late in the disease progression an attempt is made to take a sample of bone marrow by aspiration, it may result in a dry tap, meaning that where the needle can normally suck out a sample of semi-liquid bone marrow, it produces no sample because the marrow has been replaced with collagen fibers. A bone marrow biopsy will reveal collagen fibrosis, replacing the marrow that would normally occupy the space.
The protein electrophoresis test should be repeated annually, and if there is any concern for a rise in the level of monoclonal protein, then prompt referral to a hematologist is required. The hematologist, when first evaluating a case of MGUS, will usually perform a skeletal survey (X-rays of the proximal skeleton), check the blood for hypercalcemia and deterioration in renal function, check the urine for Bence Jones protein and perform a bone marrow biopsy. If none of these tests are abnormal, a patient with MGUS is followed up once every 6 months to a year with a blood test (serum protein electrophoresis). Although patients with MGUS have sometimes been reported to suffer from Small Fiber Neuropathy in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance:a debilitating condition which causes bizarre sensory problems to painful sensory problems. peripheral neuropathy, no treatment is indicated.
The condition is usually congenital, but sporadic cases have also been reported. It may be associated with other congenital defects, commonly with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, the most severe form of PKD. Some suggest that these two conditions are one disorder with different presentation.
Congenital hepatic fibrosis is an inherited fibrocystic liver disease associated with proliferation of interlobular bile ducts within the portal areas and fibrosis that do not alter hepatic lobular architecture. The fibrosis would affect resistance in portal veins leading to portal hypertension.
Although not yet formally incorporated in the generally accepted classification systems, molecular profiling of myelodysplastic syndrome genomes has increased the understanding of prognostic molecular factors for this disease. For example, in low-risk MDS, "IDH1" and "IDH2" mutations are associated with significantly worsened survival.
In terms of the investigation of congenital hyperinsulinism, valuable diagnostic information is obtained from a blood sample drawn during hypoglycemia, detectable amounts of insulin during hypoglycemia are abnormal and indicate that hyperinsulinism is likely to be the cause. Inappropriately low levels of free fatty acids and ketones provide additional evidence of insulin excess. An additional piece of evidence indicating hyperinsulinism is a usually high requirement for intravenous glucose to maintain adequate glucose levels, the minimum glucose required to maintain a plasma glucose above 70 mg/dl. A GIR above 8 mg/kg/minute in infancy suggests hyperinsulinism. A third form of evidence suggesting hyperinsulinism is a rise of the glucose level after injection of glucagon at the time of the low glucose.
Diagnostic efforts then shift to determining the type- elevated ammonia levels or abnormal organic acids can indicate specific, rare types. Intrauterine growth retardation and other perinatal problems raise the possibility of transience, while large birthweight suggests one of the more persistent conditions. Genetic screening is now available within a useful time frame for some of the specific conditions.It is worthwhile to identify the minority of severe cases with focal forms of hyperinsulinism because these can be completely cured by partial pancreatectomy. A variety of pre-operative diagnostic procedures have been investigated but none has been established as infallibly reliable. Positron emission tomography is becoming the most useful imaging technique.
The differential diagnosis of congenital hyperinsulinism is consistent with PMM2-CDG, as well as several syndromes. Among other DDx we find the following that are listed:
- MPI-CDG
- Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome
- Sotos syndrome
- Usher 1 syndromes
The outlook in MDS is variable, with about 30% of patients progressing to refractory AML. The median survival rate varies from years to months, depending on type. Stem-cell transplantation offers possible cure, with survival rates of 50% at 3 years, although older patients do poorly.
Indicators of a good prognosis:
Younger age; normal or moderately reduced neutrophil or platelet counts; low blast counts in the bone marrow (< 20%) and no blasts in the blood; no Auer rods; ringed sideroblasts; normal or mixed karyotypes without complex chromosome abnormalities; and "in vitro" marrow culture with a nonleukemic growth pattern
Indicators of a poor prognosis:
Advanced age; severe neutropenia or thrombocytopenia; high blast count in the bone marrow (20-29%) or blasts in the blood;
Auer rods; absence of ringed sideroblasts; abnormal localization or immature granulocyte precursors in bone marrow section;
completely or mostly abnormal karyotypes, or complex marrow chromosome abnormalities and "in vitro" bone marrow culture with a leukemic growth pattern
Karyotype prognostic factors:
- Good: normal, -Y, del(5q), del(20q)
- Intermediate or variable: +8, other single or double anomalies
- Poor: complex (>3 chromosomal aberrations); chromosome 7 anomalies
The IPSS is the most commonly used tool in MDS to predict long-term outcome.
Cytogenetic abnormalities can be detected by conventional cytogenetics, a FISH panel for MDS, or virtual karyotype.
Congenital lactic acidosis can be suspected based on blood or cerebrospinal fluid tests showing high levels of lactate; the underlying genetic mutation can only be diagnosed with genetic testing.
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.
Vaccinating the majority of the population is effective at preventing congenital rubella syndrome.