Extensive bleeding into the skin and organs due to excessive destruction of platelets in the spleen because of autoimmune dysfunction; condition may be mild and transient in children and more recurrent and severe in adults.
A blood disease of unknown cause. Symptoms include skin hemorrhage, i.e., inadequate clotting of blood following small cuts, surgery, or other injury due to insufficient platelets in the blood.
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A condition of unknown cause in which the blood has an insufficient number of platelets and the person bruises excessively. Platelets are tiny cells that help the blood form clots. When these blood cells are deficient, a person bruises easily and bleeds for a long time after being injured. While the cause is not known, it is known that people have ITP as the result of an autoimmune disorder. An acute form of ITP affects children, mainly from 2 to 4, and the chronic form appears in adults, usually between 20 and 50 years old.
An autoimmune disorder in which blood platelets are destroyed. This disturbs the blood’s coagulative properties and spontaneous bleeding (PURPURA) occurs into the skin. The disease may be acute in children but most recover without treatment. Adults may develop a more serious, chronic variety which requires treatment with corticosteroids and sometimes splenectomy. Should the disease persist despite these treatments, intravenous immunoglobulin or immunosuppressive drugs are worth trying. In the rare event that bleeding is or becomes life threatening, concentrates of platelets should be administered.
A hemorrhagic autoimmune disease in which there is destruction of circulating platelets, caused by antiplatelet autoantibodies that bind with antigens on the platelet membrane, making platelets more susceptible to phagocytosis and destruction in the spleen. It occurs as an acute disease in children, usually between ages 2 and 6, and often follows a viral infection. Chronic ITP seldom follows an infection and is commonly linked to immunologic disorders such as lupus erythematosis or patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who are exposed to the rubella virus. It also is linked to drug reactions, and occurs in cases of alcohol, heroin, or morphine abuse. It mainly affects adults younger than age 50, especially women between 20 and 40. Opsonization of platelets by autoantibodies stimulates their lysis by macrophages, especially in the spleen.
This is an autoimmune disorder characterized by the destruction of platelets, resulting in bleeding beneath the skin.
ITP (Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura) can manifest as either acute or chronic. Acute ITP predominantly affects children, tends to be mild, and often resolves on its own without requiring treatment.
Chronic ITP typically impacts adults and is considerably more severe. The primary treatment involves corticosteroid drugs initially; if they prove ineffective, a splenectomy (surgical removal of the spleen) becomes necessary. In cases where all other treatments fail, immunosuppressant drugs may be administered.
A systemic illness marked by numerous bleeding episodes into the skin or from mucous membranes. It is characterized by a decreased platelet count, an extended bleeding duration, and a regular coagulation time. The condition can be managed with blood transfusions, cortisone treatment, and sometimes by the removal of the spleen. It is also known as essential thrombocytopenia, land scurvy, morbus maculosus hemorrhagicus of Werlhof, and Werlhof’s disease.