Leukemia in other words is a form of cancer where the white blood cells becomes abnormal or huge abnormal cells are being produced by the bone marrow leading to various symptoms ultimately death. Thus leukemia can be considered as a fatal cancerous disease specially those chronic ones. Understanding the characteristics of the normal leukocytes is of great importance to know leukemia. The leucocytes produced in the bone marrow fight against the diseases and infections.
Leukemia may be influenced by genetic as well as environmental factors. The genetic factors of Leukemia are somatic alteration in DNA which triggers oncogenes or degenerate cancer suppressor genes disrupting the regulation of cell differentiation, death, or division. These somatic mutations in DNA may happen spontaneously or due to exposure to carcinogenic substances or radiation and are probably influenced by the genetic factors. Revelation to petrochemicals including benzene, hair dyes, certain Viruses like HIV, conscientious for AIDS or human T-lymphotropic virus and adult T-cell leukemia or lymphoma as well as Fanconi anemia are some other causal factors of leukemia.
Leukemia is categorized into myeloid or lymphocytic depending upon the kind of affected leukocyte. Leukemia is also categorized as acute, referring to those rapidly succeeding disease which involves immature leukocytes and chronic with a slower proliferation concerning mature white blood cells. In acute leukemia, juvenile nonfunctioning leukocytes known as blast cells propagate.
The myeloid leukemia distressing the granulocytes growing myelocytes is further divisible into acute and chronic myeloid leukemia. The lymphocytic leukemia also known as T cell or B cell leukemia affecting the lymphocytes growing white blood cells including acute and chronic cases. Leukemia symptoms are usually the symptoms when the blood synthesizing bone cell in infected and the leukocyte level in the blood increase at an excessive range.
The associated leukemia symptoms are also occurring unknowingly with high speed in progress. Leukemia symptoms includes infection, fever, extreme bruising, fatigue, physical exercise prejudice, abdominal soreness, or usually sensitivity of fullness, weight reduction, unusual bleeding, amplification of spleen, lymph nodes, and liver and overall weakness etc.
People suffering from leukemia frequently have fewer red blood cells and platelets than normal quantity. As an effect, there are not sufficient erythrocyte cells for carrying oxygen throughout the body and the condition leads to anemia. The leukemia symptoms are depending on amount of anomalous cells and resulting to a large number of leukemia symptoms in the patient.
The track of treatment for leukemia is based on the kind of the cell affected, the sequence of disease, as well as age of the enduring patient and can be confirmed by pronouncing a inconsistent count of leukocytes or white blood cells in tissues through a bone marrow biopsy test. Radiation therapy, chemotherapy by anticancer drugs, blood as well as plasma transfusions, and transplantation of bone marrow are the recent and most excellent treatments for leukemia.
Latest studies have specify that blood from placenta (cord blood) and umbilical cord of a newborn baby are used effectively as an alternative to marrow transplantation for some leukemia. Biological therapies comprising interferons; monoclonal antibodies; maturation drugs, including tyrosine kinase inhibitors and all-trans retinoic acid may enhance the natural reaction of body to leukemia by strengthening the immune retort, inhibiting the gene which drives cell propagation, or may persuade maturation of undeveloped leukemic cells or reproduction of desirable healthy blood essentials.
Posted in: Leukemia
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