Diamond-Blackfan anemia medical therapy

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Differentiating Diamond-Blackfan anemia from other Diseases

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Medical Therapy

  • Red cell transfusions
    • Transfusions are usually the mainstay of treatment for the first year of life for the anemia of DBA. Also, Red blood transfusions are used for those patients who do not respond to corticosteroid treatment
  • Corticosteroid therapy
    • after the first year patients are started on a course of treatment with corticosteroids and it remains the mainstay of treatment after the original report of their efficacy. In a large study of 225 patients, 82% initially responded to this therapy, although many side effects were noted.[1] Treatment with corticosteroids can improve the anemia in 80% of patients, but individuals often become intolerant to long-term corticosteroid therapy and turn to regular red blood cell transfusions, which is the only available standard therapy for the anemia. [2]
    • Chronic glucocorticoid therapy predisposes patients to iatrogenic Cushing syndrome and adrenal insufficiency.
    • Chronic blood transfusions place patients at risk for the iron overload of the liver, heart, and endocrine organs. Growth failure, osteopenia, diabetes mellitus, and failure of the thyroid, parathyroids, adrenals, gonads, and pituitary gland, may be related to therapy.[3]
  • Bone marrow transplantation (BMT)
    • It is the only curative treatment for the anemia of DBA. This option may be considered when patients become transfusion-dependent because frequent transfusions can lead to iron overloading and organ damage. This can be done using an unaffected sibling or an unrelated donor.

Remission

  • Periods of remission may occur, during which transfusions and steroid treatments are not required. Remission defined as an adequate Hemoglobin level without any treatment, lasting 6 months, independent of prior therapy. 72% of patients experience remission during the first decade of life. Some of them have more than one remission in their life. Relapses usually occur after a viral illness.
  • Some patients who have such mild signs and symptoms do not require treatment.[2]
  • Cancer treatment

Prevention of secondary complications

  • Iron chelation
    • usually started after ten to 12 transfusions (170-200 mL/kg of packed red blood cells), when serum ferritin concentration reaches 1,000-1,500 µg/L, or when the hepatic iron concentration reaches 6-7 mg/g of dry weight liver tissue
      • Deferasirox is recommended in individuals age two years or older.
      • Desferrioxamine
  • Corticosteroids side effects:
    • One of the critical side effects of corticosteroids is growth retardation. If growth is severely impaired, corticosteroids should be stopped.[4]

References

  1. Vlachos A, Klein GW, Lipton JM (2001). "The Diamond Blackfan Anemia Registry: tool for investigating the epidemiology and biology of Diamond-Blackfan anemia". J. Pediatr. Hematol. Oncol. 23 (6): 377–82. PMID 11563775.
  2. Ulirsch JC, Verboon JM, Kazerounian S, Guo MH, Yuan D, Ludwig LS, Handsaker RE, Abdulhay NJ, Fiorini C, Genovese G, Lim ET, Cheng A, Cummings BB, Chao KR, Beggs AH, Genetti CA, Sieff CA, Newburger PE, Niewiadomska E, Matysiak M, Vlachos A, Lipton JM, Atsidaftos E, Glader B, Narla A, Gleizes PE, O'Donohue MF, Montel-Lehry N, Amor DJ, McCarroll SA, O'Donnell-Luria AH, Gupta N, Gabriel SB, MacArthur DG, Lander ES, Lek M, Da Costa L, Nathan DG, Korostelev AA, Do R, Sankaran VG, Gazda HT (December 2018). "The Genetic Landscape of Diamond-Blackfan Anemia". Am. J. Hum. Genet. 103 (6): 930–947. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.10.027. PMC 6288280. PMID 30503522.
  3. Lahoti A, Harris YT, Speiser PW, Atsidaftos E, Lipton JM, Vlachos A (February 2016). "Endocrine Dysfunction in Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA): A Report from the DBA Registry (DBAR)". Pediatr Blood Cancer. 63 (2): 306–12. doi:10.1002/pbc.25780. PMC 4829065. PMID 26496000.
  4. Adam MP, Ardinger HH, Pagon RA, Wallace SE, Bean L, Stephens K, Amemiya A, Clinton C, Gazda HT. PMID 20301769. Vancouver style error: initials (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)