Diamond Blackfan Anemia
MayRose has been officially diagnosed by Dr. Adrianna Vlachos at Schnieder Children's Hospital, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantaton as having Diamond Blackfan Anemia. MayRose tested postive for the RPS 19 gene. MayRose has been entered into the Diamond Blackfan Anemia Registry as part of a continuing effort to learn more about this rare disorder. There are only 700 people in the United States and Canada who have been diagnosed with DBA.
DBA was first recognized as a distinct entity in 1938, although it was called "congenital hypoplastic anemia" at that time. Diamond Blackfan Anemia (“DBA”) is a rare blood disorder, characterized by a failure of the bone marrow (the center of the bone where blood cells are made) to produce red blood cells. This failure causes DBA patients to become severely anemic. It is important to note that this anemia is not the result of a deficiency in iron, vitamin B-12, folate, or erythropoietin, which is a blood cell stimulating factor. Although a number of theories regarding the cause of DBA have been proposed, it is now widely accepted that DBA is a ribosomal protein disease. The disorder results from an intrinsic progenitor cell defect in which erythroid progenitors and precursors are highly sensitive to death by apoptosis (self-destruction).
Most DBA patients are diagnosed within the first year of life. DBA patients can live long and healthy lives with appropriate medical treatment. The two most common forms of treatment are blood transfusion therapy and corticosteroid medication. Some DBA patients are in remission and need no medical treatment related to their DBA. Other DBA patients may choose to undergo the risky procedure of a stem cell transplant (also referred to as a bone marrow transplant).
In recent years, the scientific community has discovered that DBA is a ribosomal protein disease. This is a very exciting discovery for the DBA community, as it has resulted in increased scientific attention to this rare disease.
Diamond Blackfan Anemia is the preferred name for this disorder but other names for DBA include:
• Blackfan Diamond syndrome
• Congenital pure red cell aplasia
• Congenital hypoplastic anemia
• Aase syndrome (felt to be a subset of DBA in which there is a finger-like thumb, and not a distinct disorder)
More can be learned about DBA at the following websites:
http://www.dbafoundation.org/
http://www.dbar.org/
http://www.dmaf.org
DBA was first recognized as a distinct entity in 1938, although it was called "congenital hypoplastic anemia" at that time. Diamond Blackfan Anemia (“DBA”) is a rare blood disorder, characterized by a failure of the bone marrow (the center of the bone where blood cells are made) to produce red blood cells. This failure causes DBA patients to become severely anemic. It is important to note that this anemia is not the result of a deficiency in iron, vitamin B-12, folate, or erythropoietin, which is a blood cell stimulating factor. Although a number of theories regarding the cause of DBA have been proposed, it is now widely accepted that DBA is a ribosomal protein disease. The disorder results from an intrinsic progenitor cell defect in which erythroid progenitors and precursors are highly sensitive to death by apoptosis (self-destruction).
Most DBA patients are diagnosed within the first year of life. DBA patients can live long and healthy lives with appropriate medical treatment. The two most common forms of treatment are blood transfusion therapy and corticosteroid medication. Some DBA patients are in remission and need no medical treatment related to their DBA. Other DBA patients may choose to undergo the risky procedure of a stem cell transplant (also referred to as a bone marrow transplant).
In recent years, the scientific community has discovered that DBA is a ribosomal protein disease. This is a very exciting discovery for the DBA community, as it has resulted in increased scientific attention to this rare disease.
Diamond Blackfan Anemia is the preferred name for this disorder but other names for DBA include:
• Blackfan Diamond syndrome
• Congenital pure red cell aplasia
• Congenital hypoplastic anemia
• Aase syndrome (felt to be a subset of DBA in which there is a finger-like thumb, and not a distinct disorder)
More can be learned about DBA at the following websites:
http://www.dbafoundation.org/
http://www.dbar.org/
http://www.dmaf.org