Aplastic Anemia may be caused by injury to the bone marrow by radiation, chemicals, various medications, viruses, immune diseases, pregnancy, insecticides and pesticides. It is important to realize that bone marrow failure is a very rare response to a wide variety of possible causative factors to which we are all commonly exposed. In most cases of Aplastic Anemia, we do not find any link with environmental factors.

Aplastic anemia is a very serious and rare condition in which the bone marrow stops producing enough red and white blood cells to keep the body healthy, resulting in an increased risk of infection and uncontrollable bleeding. The disease can develop in patients of any age and is treatable by medication, bone marrow transplants, and blood transfusions.

Pregnancy places major demands on the body, because the mother must meet the needs of both her body and her growing baby. The body needs enough iron and folate to make the right amount of red blood cells. To prevent anemia during pregnancy, the expectant mother should stay in close contact with her doctor, and be sure to eat a diet that includes foods rich in iron and folate, like liver and dark green leafy vegetables.

MAA is the classification for those who have significantly reduced blood counts but not as reduced as occurs in severe Aplastic Anemia. In many cases, doctors will not prescribe treatment for moderate Aplastic Anemia patients but will simply monitor blood counts. Moderate Aplastic Anemia may remain unchanged for many years. Sometimes it is detected during a routine physical exam, or it may be discovered if it escalates to severe Aplastic Anemia, as it begins causing more symptoms.

SAA is defined by a marrow cellularity (blood cell production) of less than 25% and at least two of the following:

There are many similarities between Aplastic Anemia and Melodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), and patients share many of the same symptoms. Both groups suffer from anemia and reductions in the number of platelets and white blood cells. However, Aplastic Anemia is more prevalent among young people, while the incidence of MDS increases with age. Some aplastic anemia patients progress into Melodysplastic Syndromes.

The biggest difference between the two diseases is that in Aplastic Anemia the bone marrow is producing normal blood cells, but isn’t making enough of them (hypoplastic bone marrow); in MDS the bone marrow may be stuffed with cells (hyperplastic bone marrow), but these cells are ‘cloned’ from an abnormal stem cell. This means they do not function properly as mature ‘differentiated’ cells.

There are a number of different types of anemia and the symptoms will vary by type. In general, potential causes include a number of disease such as heart disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and cancer; inflammatory disease like rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel syndrome; and a number of other conditions such as excessive blood loss, nutritional deficiencies, adverse reactions to certain medications, chemotherapy, and certain problems affecting bone marrow.

To date, use of growth factors like erythropoietin to increase red blood cells and platelets has not been particularly successful in patients with Aplastic anemia. It is important to remember that growth factors do not cure Aplastic anemia. Rather, they may help damaged bone marrow to work better until other treatments have a chance to reverse the processes causing the marrow damage.

Anemia results when there is not enough iron in the blood to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Baby and toddlers, pregnant and menstruating women, and people who have lost blood need more iron.

The symptoms of anemia can include headache, fatigue, weakness, difficulty in thinking. With severe anemia, other symptoms, such as shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat, may be experienced.

Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia usually develops when your body cannot absorb this vitamin from food. This can happen if:1, 2 You have pernicious anemia. In pernicious anemia, your body destroys the cells in your stomach needed to help your body absorb vitamin B12. You have had surgery to remove part of your stomach or the last section of your small intestine (ileum ).

Anemia, an abnormally low level of red blood cells, is a common complication of cancer and treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Both cancer and its treatment can interfere with the supply of red blood cells - by inhibiting the production of bone marrow, or as a result of chronic blood loss during surgery. Although it is seldom life-threatening, cancer-related anemia can cause overwhelming fatigue, and may have a severe impact on quality of life.

Having an increased need for folic acid, as might happen with pregnancy or certain medical conditions, such as sickle cell disease. Not absorbing or retaining folic acid. If you drink too much alcohol or have severe kidney problems that require blood-cleaning procedures, your body might not absorb folic acid.

No one can be blamed for infertility any over anyone is to blame for diabetes or leukemia. In rough terms, about one-third of infertility cases can be attributed to male factors, and about one-third to factors that affect women. For the remaining one-third of infertile couples, infertility is caused by a combination of problems in both partners or, in about 20% of cases, is unexplained.