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Polycythemia vera is called Vaquez’s disease. It can sometimes turn into chronic myeloid leukemia. The true Czerwienica is not fully understood. It is most often discovered during routine blood counts. The signs of illness are varied. The prognosis depends on the age at which the disease was diagnosed. Polycythaemia Vera is a cancer of the bone marrow. Red blood cells are produced in the body by the bone marrow, and an excess of blood cells is a serious problem and is a symptom of a life-threatening disease called polycythemia vera.
Symptoms of hyperemia
The degree of severity symptoms depends on the severity of the disease. The occurrence of complications manifests itself in the form of thromboembolism and hemorrhage. For many years, the disease does not need to manifest itself. The appearance of the first symptoms is associated with increasing erythrocytosis, i.e. an increase in the number of red blood cells in the blood and an increase in the number of circulating platelets. In the advanced stage of the disease, bone marrow fibrosis and its function are turned off, which leads to severe anemia and thrombocytopenia. About 10 percent. people suffering from polycythemia vera you develop acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome.
To the main ones symptoms of polycythemia belong:
- symptoms related to excessive blood viscosity: headaches and dizziness, itching of the skin increasing after a hot bath, unpleasant tinnitus, visual disturbances and painful erythema of the extremities,
- symptoms of peptic ulcer, symptoms of thrombosis, symptoms of hemorrhagic diathesis,
- other non-specific symptoms: high blood pressure, weakness, weight loss, abdominal fullness, abdominal pain,
- enlargement of the spleen, enlarged liver, congestion of the mucous membranes of the mouth and conjunctiva, redness around the hands, feet, auricles and face.
How to recognize polycythemia vera?
Basic blood test will indicate an increased number of red blood cells, an increase in hemoglobin and hematocrit. In polycythemia real there is often an increase in quantity platelets and leukocytes (mainly neutrophils and basophils). It also carries out bone marrow biopsy. Many people with polycythemia vera has a JAK-2 gene mutation.
Treatment
It is used in patients with a high risk of complications leczenie cytoreductive. Preparations of hydroxycarbamide, interferon alfa or busulfan are used. It is recommended for all patients leczenie antiplatelet agents with acetylsalicylic acid. Heals himself symptomatic pruritus and prophylaxis of cardiovascular risk factors, arterial hypertension. Quit smoking, reduce weight or prevent hypercholesterolaemia. Blood bleeding is used in all patients with polycythemia vera
What is the prognosis of polycythemia vera?
The survival rate of elderly patients with hyperemia is comparable to that of the healthy population. It is not possible to be complete cure polycythemia vera. If the disease affects young people, the risk of bone marrow fibrosis and the development of acute myeloid leukemia increases. The most common cause of death is a complication polycythemia vera – thrombosis.