What is myelofibrosis?
Myelofibrosis is a rare blood disorder. The bone marrow makes fewer blood cells. That's because the bone marrow is suppressed by connective tissue. Myelofibrosis is most common in the elderly, but also people under fifty can get the disease.
Myelofibrosis symptoms
In the beginning, people with myelofibrosis too many platelets in the blood. Some people have symptoms that come with it, such as tingling and pain in the hands and feet and headache.
Over time, people with myelofibrosis too little platelets in their blood. They then get anemia and an enlarged spleen. This will give you symptoms including:
- fatigue;
- shortness of breath;
- night really sweating;
- weight loss;
- fever;
- feel full.
Treatment for myelofibrosis
The treatment of myelofibrosis is at every person different. If you do not have a complaints than a treatment is not necessary. You will remain under the supervision of a doctor.
Is there need treatment, there are several possibilities:
- Drugs that inhibit the production of platelets. Examples include Interferon, Anagrelide and Hydrea. These medications work best in the early stages of myelofibrosis. They slow down the disease. They can give considerable side effects.
- Medicines for anemia, eg steroids, EPO and folic acid;
- Blood transfusion in order to fill in gaps in your blood;
- The removal of the spleen. A greatly enlarged and painful spleen you need it removed. In some people this is not because there is too much risk of bleeding. The doctor will then irradiate the spleen.
- stem cell transplantation. In this treatment, the patient is given bone marrow from a donor. If the transplant goes well, you have been healed. However, this is a very heavy procedure with many risks.