Chapter 5 Flashcards
How does anemia present (decreased circulating RBC mass)?
-weakness, fatigue, and dyspnea
pale conjunctiva
HA
Angina
How is anemia defined?
Hb less than 13.5 g/dL in males and 12.5 g/dL in females (normal Hb is 13.5-17.5 in males and 12.5-16 in females)
Based on MCV, anemia can be classified as microcytic (MCV less than 80), normocytic (80-100), or macrocytic (MCV= 100+)
Principles of microcytic anemias
Anemia with MCV less tahn 80
Due to decreased production of hemoglobin (RBC progenitor cells in the bone marrow are large and normally divide multiple times to produce smaller mature cells, and microcytosis represents an extra division to maintain hemoglobin concentration
What is hemoglobin made of?
heme and globin; heme is made or iron and protoporphyrin- a decrease in any of these leads to a microcytic anemia
What are the microcytic anemias?
1) iron deficiency anemia
2) Anemia of chronic disease
3) Sideroblastic anemia
4) thalassemia
Describe iron deficiency anemia
Due to decreased levels of iron (most common form of anemia)
How is iron absorbed?
Absorption occurs in the duodenum. Enterocytes have heme and non-heme (DMT1) transporters; the heme form is more readily absorbed
Enterocytes transport iron across the cell membrane into blood via ferroportin. Transferrin trasports iron in the blood and delivers it to liver and bone marrow amcrophages for storage. Stored intracellular iron is bound to ferritin, which prevents irons from forming free radicals via the Fenton rxn
What are some lab measures of iron status?
1) Serum iron
2) Total iron-binding capacity- measure of transferrin molecules in the blood
3) % saturation- percentage of transferrin molecules that are bound by iron (normal is 33%)
4) Serum ferritin-reflects iron stores in macrophages and liver
What are some common causes of iron deficiency?
Infants breat feeding- human milk is low in iron
poor diet
Adults (20-50)- peptic ulcer disease in males and menorrhagia or pregnancy in females
Elderly- colon polyps/carcinoma or hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale or Necator americanus) in the developing world
What is the progression of iron loss?
- Storage iron is depleted leading to decreased ferritin and increased TIBC
- Serum iron is depleted leading to decreased serum iron and decreased % saturation
- Normocytic anemia- bone marrow makes fever, but normal sized RBCs
- Microcytic, hypochromic anemia
Signs of iron deficiency anemia?
pica, koilonychia (below)
Lab findings of iron deficient anemia
Microcytic, hypochromic RBCs with increased red cell distribution width
decreased ferritin , % saturation, and serum iron
increased TIBC and free protoporphyrin (FEP)
How is iron deficient anemia tx?
ferrous sulfate
What is Plummer-Vinson Syndrome?
Triad of anemia, dysphagia, and beefy-red tongue
What is anemia of chronic disease?
Anemia associated with chronic inflammation (eg endocarditis or autoimmune conditions) or cancer.
Occurs because chronic disease results in production of acute phase reactants fromthe liver, including hepcidin and hepcidin sequesters iron in storage sites by limiting iron transfer, and suppressing EPO in order to prevent bacteria form accessing iron
What are the lab findings of anemia of chronic disease?
elevated ferrtitin
decreased TIBC, serum iron, and % saturation
elevated free protoporphyrin (FEP)
What causes sideoblastic anemia?
Anemia due to defective protoporphyin synthesis leading to less heme and a microcytic anemia
How is protoporphyrin made?
Aminolevulinic acid synthase (ALAS) converts succinyl CoA to aminolevulinic acid (ALA) using vitB6 as a cofactor
Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase converts ALA to porphobilinogen, and then porphobilinogen is converted to protoporphyrin
Ferrochelatase attached protoporphyrin to iron to make heme (occurs in the mitochondria)
Note that iron is transferred to erythroid precursors and enter the mitochondria to from heme. If protoporphyrin is deficienct, iron remains trapped in mitochondria and these iron-laden mitochondria form a ring around the nucleus of erythroid precursors (aka sideroblasts)
How can sideoblastic anemia occur?
can be congenital or acquired:
Congenitally mostly via ALAS defect
Acquired via alcoholism (mitochondrial poison), Lead poisoning (inhibits ALAD and ferrochelatase), vitB6 deficiency (seen with isoniazid therapy)
What are the lab findings of sideoblastic anemia?
elevated ferritin, serum iron, and % saturation
decreased TIBC
What is a normal TIBC?
300 ug/dL
What is a normal serum iron?
100 ug/dL
What is a normal % saturation?
33%
What are thalassemias?
Anemia due to decreased synthesis of the globin chanins of hemoglobin leading to microcytic anemia
What are the normal types of hemoglobin?
HbF (a2Y2), HbA (a2b2), and HBA2 (a2delta2)
What causes a-thalassemia?
usually due to gene deletion; normally, 4 alpha genes are present on chromosome 16
One gene deleted= asymptomatic
Two genes deleted= mild anemia with elevaed RBC count; cis deletion is associated with an icnreased risk of severe thalassemia in offspring (seen in Asians); trans deletions seen in Africans
Three genes deleted= severe anemia; B chains form tetramers (HbH) that damage RBCs; HbH seen on electrophoresis
- Four genes deleted= lethal in utero due to hydrops fetalis; y chains form tetramers (Hb barts)
What causes B-thalassemia?
usually due to gene mutations (point mutations in promoter or splicing sites); seen in African and Mediterranean deescent pts.
There are two B genes present on chromosome 11 and mutations result in absent (Bo) or diminished (B+) production of the B-globin chain
How does B-thalassemia minor (B/B+) present?
Mildest form of disease and is usually asymptomatic with an increased RBC count
will see microcytic, hypochromic RBCs and target cells on blood smear
How does B-thalassemia minor (B/B+) present on electrophoresis?
slightly decreased HbA with increased HBA2 (5%, normal 2.5%) and HbF (2%, normal 1%)
How does B-thalassemia major (Bo/Bo) present?
most severe forms of disease and present with severe anemia a few months after birth
there is high HbF (a2y2) at birth and is temporarily protective
More on B-thalassemia major (Bo/Bo)
Unpaired a chains precipitate and damage RBC membranes, resulting in ineffective eryhtrooiesis and extravascular hemolysis (removal or circulating RBCs by the spleen)
Massive erythroid hyperplasia ensues resulting in expansion of hematopoiesis into the skill (resulting in crewcut appearance- below) and facial bones (leading to chipmunk facies), as well as extramedullary hematopoiesis wth HSM, and risk of aplastic crisis with parvovirus B19 infection
B thalassemia major chipmunk facies
How is B thalassemia major tx?
major tranfusions often needed leading to a risk of secondary hemochromatosis
What does electrophoresis show with B thalassemia major?
HBA2 and HbF with little to no HbA
What most commonly causes macrocytic anemia (MCV 100+)?
vitB12 or folate deficiency (megaloblastic anemia)
What are folate and B12 needed for?
synthesis of DNA precursors- folate circulates as methyl THF and removal of the methyl roup and tranfer to vitB12 allows for participation in synthesis of DNA precursors
vitB12 then transfers the methyl group to homocysteine, producing methionine
What does lack of folate or B12 cause?
Impaired division and enlargemnt of RBC precursors leads to megaloblastic anemia and impaired division of grnaulocytes leads to hypersegmented neutrophils
Folate
Gained in diet from green veggies and fruits and absorbed in the jejunum. Folate deficiencies only take months to develop as body stores are minimal