Anemia diseases Flashcards
What are general findings in anemia (6)?
Fatigue
Weakness
Dyspnea
Lightheadedness
Pale conjunctiva
Headache
How, generally, is anemia diagnosed?
Hematocrit and hemoglobin
Anemias are divided into 3 general categories. What are they?
Microcytic anemia (<80 fL)
Normocytic anemia (80-100 fL)
Macrocytic anemia (>100 fL)
What causes microcytic anemia?
extra division in erythrocyte to maintain MCHC, as hemoglobin synthesis is impaired
What are the 5 causes of microcytic anemia?
Sideroblastic anemia
Anemia of chronic disease (Late)
lead poisoning
Thalassemia (alpha and beta)
Iron deficiency (Late)
(SALTI)
What is sideroblastic anemia?
Deficiency in protoporphyrin synthesis resulting in anemia
What causes sideroblastic anemia? (2 causes)
ALA synthase mutation or vitamin B6 deficiency
What is the pathophysiology of sideroblastic anemia?
Fe is pumped into mitochondria located in the erythroblast. Because there is a deficiency in ALA sythase, porphyrin is never made and Fe never binds to porphyrin in the mitochondria. This results in a build up of iron in the mitochondria causing the formation of free radicals. These free radicals eventually destroy the cell and release all of the iron into the blood. As a result, transferrin binds the massive spillage of iron and brings it to storage tissue.
What are the lab findings in Sideroblastic anemia? (serum iron, TIBC, % saturation, ferratin)
Increased ferratin
Decreased TIBC
Increased serum iron
Increased iron saturation on transferrin
hypochromic RBCs
What is anemia of chronic disease?
Chronic inflammation resulting in anemia
What is the pathophysiology of anemia of chronic disease?
Chronic inflammation results in the increased synthesis of hepcidin, which inhibits ferroportin preventing the release of iron from storage sites (duodenal enterocytes, liver, and bone marrow macrophages), and suppresses Epo synthesis. This decreases the amount of Hb synthesis, resulting in an extra division of erythrocytes resulting in microcytic RBCs and anemia
What are lab findings of anemia of chronic disease? (serum iron, TIBC, % saturation, ferratin, FEP)
decreased serum iron
Decreased TIBC (cells sense that there is plenty of iron so it decreases the amount)
decreased iron saturation % on transferrin
increased ferratin
increased free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP)
Hypochromic RBCs
What is the treatment for anemia of chronic disease?
treat the underlying cause
Some patients will benefit from recombinant Epo, since chronic inflammation can suppress natural synthesis of Epo
What is anemia from lead poisoning? How does it present?
lead inhibits ALAD and ferrochetolase, which inhibits Hb synthesis
Similar to sideroblastic anemia
What is thalassemia? What are the two types?
A decrease in SYNTHESIS of globin chains
alpha and beta thalassemia
What are the 3 normal types of hemoglobin?
HbF (α2γ2)
HbA (α2β2)
HbA2 (α2δ2)
How many alpha genes do we have?
- 2 alleles for each chromosome
What are the 4 types of alpha thalassemia and indicate their genotype and severity
Silent carrier:
- -α/αα
- Asymptomatic
α-thalassemia trait
- -α/-α (more common in Africans) or –/αα (more common in Asians)
- Mild anemia
HbH disease
- –/-α
- Severe anemia
- Formation of HbH (β4 tetramer), which damages RBCs
Hydrops fetalis
- –/–
- Incompatible with life
- Formation of Hb Bart’s (γ4 tetramer)
How many beta genes do we have?
- 1 allele on each chromosome
When does beta thalassemia typically present. Why?
6-9 months of age
This is the transition period from HbF to HbA
What are the types of mutations that can occur in a beta allele?
absent (β0) or diminished (β+) production of β-globin
What are the types of beta thalassemia? Indicate the geneotype and its severity
β thalassemia minor
- β/β+ or β/β0
- Mild form of anemia
β thalassemia major
- β/β+ or β0/β0
- Severe anemia
- Typically presents around 6-9 months when beta chains replace γ chains
What are the lab findings of thalassemias?
target cells
Electrophoresis
- Decreased HbA
- Increased HbA2
- Increased HbF
What is the treatment for thalassemias?
blood transfusions with iron chelator to prevent iron overload
Decribe iron homeostasis (how it is absorbed and delivered into tissues). What is hepcidin?
- When consumed, heme is broken down via heme oxygenase, which releases Fe3+.
- Ferroreductase converts iron into its ferrous form at the duodenum
- Fe3+ —-ferroreductase—-> Fe2+ (ferrous iron)
- Fe2+ moves through the divalent metal transporter DMT1
- Some of the ferrous iron is stored in a protein cage, which together is called ferritin
- Fe2+ moves through the enterocyte via the ferroportin channel located on the basolateral side of the enterocyte
- This channel can be inhibited by hepcidin
- Once, out of the enterocyte, Fe2+ is oxidized to Fe3+ via ferrous oxidase
- Fe3+ binds to transferrin, a protein responsible for iron transport in the blood
- Transferrin is important as free iron creates free radicals
- Transferrin delivers Fe3+ to liver and bone marrow macrophages for storage
What are some clinical presentations of iron deficiency anemia?
Koilonychia (spoon nails; concaved nail beds)
Pica (chewing on things)
What are the lab findings in iron deficieny anemia? (serum iron, TIBC, % saturation, ferratin, FEP)
Serum iron decreases
Total iron binding capacity (TIBC) increases (increase to try and find more iron)
% saturation decreases
Ferritin is decreased
Free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP) increases
Hypochromic RBCs
What is the treatment for iron deficiency?
ferrous sulfate