Acute ischemic stroke in the setting of essential thrombocytemia (clinical cases)

This article describes several clinical cases of acute ischemic stroke among patients suffering from essential thrombocytemia. Ambiguity of etiological factors of stroke is demonstrated among patients with this pathology. Thrombocytosis and high allele load in the Jak2 gene play an important role (even with normal platelet count) in progression of cerebrovascular disease. Also the question of effectiveness of preventive and etiological therapy is considered

MYELODYSPLASTIC/MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISEASES

Chronic myeloid malignancies that have characteristics of both the myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative disorders allocated to myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases (MDS/MPD) group in 2008 World Health Organization classification. This group includes chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, atypical chronic myeloid leukemia, refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts and thrombocytosis (RARS-T) and unclassified MDS/MPD. Except RARS-T diseases in this group have similar molecular characteristics and clinical manifestations, which require the study of biology, specific molecular markers, morphological features and a clearer definition of nosology. This review provides information on international guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of MDS/MPD

Differential diagnosis of thrombocytopenes

The article presents a systematic diagnostic approach for thrombocytopenia, as well as the results of practical implementation of thrombocytopenia diagnostic protocol in adult patients. Among 183 patients first admitted to HRC with unspecified origin thrombocytopenia, primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) was established only in 48 % of patients, while in 52 % of cases it was a symptom of another pathology (the ratio was 1 : 1). As a result of re-examination of 118 relapse patients with long-term history of ITP diagnosis was confirmed in 85 % of cases, in 15 % the diagnosis has been changed to a different nosology.The results show that to establish the true causes of thrombocytopenia is necessary to conduct an extensive diagnostic search according to presented protocol.Differential diagnosis between primary immune and secondary thrombocytopenia should be carried out not only in the onset of the disease, but also in the relapse of an earlier established ITP

Red Blood Cell Morphodynamics in Patients with Polycythemia Vera and Stroke

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a Ph-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) which is characterized by erythrocytosis and a high incidence of thrombotic complications, including stroke. The study aimed to evaluate red blood cell (RBC) morphodynamic properties in PV patients and their possible association with stroke. We enrolled 48 patients with PV in this cross-sectional study, 13 of which have a history of ischemic stroke. The control group consisted of 90 healthy subjects. RBC deformability and aggregation analysis were performed using a laser-assisted optical rotational red cell analyzer. The following parameters were calculated: aggregation amplitude (Amp), RBC rouleaux formation time constant (Tf), time of formation of three-dimensional aggregates (Ts), aggregation index (AI), rate of complete disaggregation (y-dis), and the maximal elongation of RBC (EImax). Statistical analysis was performed with the R programming language. There were significant differences in RBCs morphodynamics features between patients with PV and the control group. Lower EImax (0.47 (0.44; 0.51) vs. 0.51 (0.47; 0.54), p −1, p p p = 0.03). A logistic regression model for stroke was built based on RBC morphodynamics which performed reasonably well (p = 0.01). RBC alterations may be associated with overt cerebrovascular disease in PV, suggesting a possible link between erythrocyte morphodynamics and increased risk of stroke

Clinical Characteristics of Cerebrovascular Pathology with Patients Suffering from Ph-Negative Myeloproliferative Disease

Background: Disturbances of microcirculation play a significant role in the development and progression of both acute and chronic cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) and may be associated with different hemogram abnormalities. One of the reasons of the prothrombogenic state of the endothelium is the increase in the number of blood corpuscles leading to (non-Ph) myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) including essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV), and primary myelofibrosis (PM). Materials and Methods: The study included 167 patients: 102 patients with Ph-MPD and the control group comprising 65 patients with CVD. According to MPD subtype, the patients were divided into three groups: patients with ET (37%, n = 38, male/female 7/31, age 52 ± 7 years), those with PV (40%, n = 41, male/female 20/21, age 50 ± 6 years) and those with PM (23%, n = 23, male/female 5/18, age 54 ± 4 years). Results: In 79% (n = 81) of cases in the study group (with Ph-MPD), patients had chronic CVD, with the most frequently identified symptoms being asthenia (92%) and headache (72%). Headache in Ph-MPD patients was more frequently (86%) associated with PM, while in patients with PV and ET it was equally distributed (70%). Neurological symptoms in 53% of cases were associated with focal changes of the brain on MRI localized in the subcortical area of the frontal and parietal lobes. Twenty-one (21%) patients suffered an acute cerebrovascular accident, 8 of them had thrombotic occlusion of one of the internal carotid arteries leading to hemispheric infarcts. Endothelial function (as measured by flow-dependent dilation of the brachial artery) was severely impaired in all study groups (median 5% with normal cut-off at 10%), the lowest degree of vasodilator activity being specific for patients with a history of stroke (p = 0.011). Conclusion: Patients suffering from MPD had asymptomatic focal changes in the brain in the absence of concomitant vascular disease (hypertension, atherosclerotic vascular disease, heart rhythm disorders) in 50% of cases. MPD, while remaining un- or underdiagnosed, presents a major concern in the cerebrovascular setting. A large number of thrombotic strokes occurring in patients with ET underline the necessity of early diagnostics and preventive therapy in these patients