Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (Cleve Clin J Med. 2008 May;75(5):369-75). Authors are Crowther MA George JN. from the Division of Hematology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a spectrum of syndromes characterized by thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, manifested by an elevated blood lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentration and red blood cell fragments. It classically occurs in patients with a hereditary or acquired lack of ADAMTS13, a metalloproteinase that cleaves large multimers of von Willebrand factor. Other TTP-like syndromes, including TTP associated with pregnancy, organ transplantation, and certain medications, likely have different underlying causes and may require different treatment. Unless TTP is recognized promptly and treated aggressively, most patients die of it. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.