Blood Disorders

Bone marrow can cure blood disorders

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A leading specialty hospital has demonstrated that bone marrow stem cells can cure blood disorders like leukemia, thalassemia and aplastic anemia, a bone marrow failure.

“Bone marrow transplant has emerged as an effective cure for cancerous and genetic blood diseases through transfusion of its stem cells from a healthy donor to an affected patient,” Narayana Health City consultant hematologist Sharat Damodar told reporters here Tuesday.

The corporate hospital in the city’s southern suburb claims to have performed about 300 bone marrow transplants with over 80 per cent success rate.

Bone marrow can be collected from a related donor (siblings), matched unrelated donor (non-family members) and haploidentical donor (father or mother).

“As it is a challenge to find donors in India, there is need for greater awareness to donate bone marrow to needy patients,” said Damodar. A person suffers from leukemia when the bone marrow starts producing abnormal white blood cells.

“Though leukemia can be treated with radiation and chemotherapy, in case of relapse, the option is a bone marrow transplant,” he added. In case of thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder which makes less hemoglobin, the treatment option is regular blood transfusion or bone marrow transplant.

“We are partnering with Cure Thalassemia, an Italian organisation, which pioneered bone marrow transplant for thalaseemia patients,” Damador said. Aplastic anemia (bone marrow failure) occurs when the quantity of each of the three blood cell types is much lower than normal.

“Its symptoms are unexplained infections (due to fewer white blood cells), unexpected bleeding (due to fewer platelets) and fatigue (due to fewer red blood cells). Treatment includes blood transfusion, blood and marrow stem cell transplants,” he said.

With the largest bone marrow transplant facility, Narayana gets about 30 per cent of overseas patients for treating blood disorders. Founded by renowned cardiologist Devi Shetty, Narayana has 26 hospitals in 16 cities with 6,900 beds across the country.

The group’s flagship hospital here has also largest dialysis unit with tertiary care expertise in liver, kidney and heart transplants

Source: Times of India

Indian doctor awarded by American Society of Haematology

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Dr Praveen Kaudlay, a clinical haematology specialist registrar based in the UK, has been awarded with Abstract Achievement Award by the American Society of Haematology for his work as a first author on bone marrow failure condition called as paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria.

 

The award was presented, along with the paper presentation, at the 55th annual American Society of Haematology conference held in New Orleans, US from December 7 to 10.

Each year, the American Society of Haematology, offers merit-based Abstract Achievement Awards to select individuals to acknowledge the accomplishments of haematologists-in-training. This year’s Abstract Achievement Awards recognize undergraduate students, medical students, graduate students, resident physicians, and post-doctoral fellows who are both first author and presenter of an abstract.

Discussing about his paper with India Medical Times, Dr Kaudlay said, “The work was on bone marrow failure condition called as paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria. We looked at polymorphism in a complement molecule as these patients despite being treated with a drug, Eculizumab, tend to have haemolysis (blood getting destroyed inside the circulation). The study also included testing a molecule that blocks complement C3 in-vitro. The main investigator for this work is Prof Peter Hillmen, based at St James University Hospital at Leeds. I am the first author for the paper. Nearly 3,000 abstracts are submitted from around the world in this high profile conference attended by more than 20,000 delegates from all parts of the world.”

 

A graduate from Bangalore Medical College, Dr Kaudlay holds an interest in blood disorders and bone marrow failure syndromes and stem cell transplantation, which are quite common in India. He finished his postgraduation in General Medicine from India before going to the UK in 2003.

Talking about his future plans Dr Kaudlay said, “My future plan is to take research work that is of direct interest to India in blood disorders and bone marrow transplantation as Indians have different genetics compared to the Caucasians where most of the research are done. We have a large burden of thalassemia and sickle cell disease whose management needs to be improved. Bone marrow cancers are now being detected more than before needing novel chemotherapy drugs and stem cell transplantation. Indigenous research with Indian subjects needs to be pursued more to have a strong database to apply for treatment modalities.”

“My personal ambition is to develop a bone marrow donation registry which is as robust as in the West as patients of the Indian origin both within and outside India are struggling to find suitable match as lifesaving one marrow transplantation for many malignancies. There is a dire need to work along to develop the registry involving Indian population. The specialty of Haematology needs to be developed further to attract international trials and research in India,” he added.

Source: India medical times: