PMID: 16649446May 3, 2006Paper

Splenic changes in sickle cell anaemia

Nigerian Journal of Medicine : Journal of the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria
D A Wilson-OkohO A Ejele

Abstract

The spleen is one of the most frequently affected organ in Sickle cell anaemia (SCA). This has been attributed to its complex anatomy and prominent reticuloendothelial functions which include clearance of unwanted particulate matter in blood ( culling), defense against infection and reservoir for blood cells. This paper aims to highlight the current information on the changes that occur in the spleen of Sickle Cell Disease patients in this environment. A review of relevant literature on the subject of splenic changes in Sickle Cell Disease sourced by manual library and medline search. The essential splenic change in SCA is splenomegaly and subsequent shrinkage in size (autosplenectomy), which maybe due to several factors. These include: high levels of irreversible sickle cells, decreased HbF associated with increased intravascular sickling and chronic Malaria infection secondary to hyperplasia of the reticulo-endothelial system and increased antibody production especially IgG and IgM. Finally, the clinical complications of these splenic changes such as increased susceptibility to infection, acute splenic sequestration and hypersplenism are also reviewed in this paper. In view of the above changes, it is important to ensure regu...Continue Reading

Citations

Jun 17, 2016·PloS One·Benson G MunyanFlorian Jentsch
Apr 27, 2010·PLoS Computational Biology·Rafi HaddadNoam Sobel

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anemia

Anemia develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells. Anemia of inflammation (AI, also called anemia of chronic disease) is a common, typically normocytic, normochromic anemia that is caused by an underlying inflammatory disease. Here is the latest research on anemia.

Blood And Marrow Transplantation

The use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or blood and marrow transplantation (bmt) is on the increase worldwide. BMT is used to replace damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells. Here is the latest research on bone and marrow transplantation.