By NICoi S COSTEA, VINCENT YAKULLS AND PAUL HELLER H EMOLYTIC ANEMIA of the cold agglutinin ( CA ) variety is believed to represent an autoimmune disorder occasionally complicating the course of lymphoproliferative diseases.’2 Whereas animal models have been proposed for the investigation of various autoimmune phenomena,3 cold reacting erythrocyte autoantibodies have not yet been studied in exp...

We report two cases of primary cold agglutinin disease (CAD) associated with megaloblastic anemia in Japanese elderly patients. Case 1 was a 67-year-old male and Case 2 was a 55-year-old male. Both patients were diagnosed with primary CAD, with continuously high cold agglutinin titers (1 : >8,192 and 1 : 16,834, resp.), monoclonal IgM-kappa light chains, and no underlying disease. In addition, ...

I N 1949, Owren first noted a beneficial effect of heparin therapy in autoimmune hemolytic anemia.1 Dramatic therapeutic responses were subsequently reported by other investigators.26 However, neither the value nor the precise mechanism of action of this drug has been elicited in the treatment of autoimmune hemolytic anemia. We have evaluated the use of parenteral heparin in seven patients with...

Splenectomy can treat conditions characterized by hemolysis or thrombocytopenia caused autoantibodies splenic reticuloendothelial function, as well disorders massive splenomegaly and hypersplenism with cytopenias, such hereditary spherocytosis, transfusion-dependent thalassemia, immune thrombocytopenia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, marginal zone lymph is no longer used for Hodgkin disease stagi...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Rituximab reacts specifically with the CD20 antigen and induces B-cell depletion. This could interfere with the production of autoantibodies in some immune diseases. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of rituximab in autoimmune hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia. DESIGN AND METHODS Seven patients (one with cold agglutinin disease, two with warm ...

REFERENCES 1. Mayer B, Yurek S, Kiesewetter H, Salama A. Mixed-type autoimmune hemolytic anemia: differential diagnosis and a critical review of reported cases. Transfusion 2008;48:2229-34. 2. Sudha Reddy VR, Samayam P, Ravichander B, Bai U. Autoimmune hemolytic anemia: mixed type-a case report. Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus 2011;27:107-10. 3. Hoffman PC. Immune hemolytic anemia-selected topi...

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia is a rare hematologic entity in children. Etiologies are mainly viruses or bacteria. We describe here a case of severe warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (IgG- and C3d-positive direct antiglobulin test) in an immunocompetent 6-month-old infant with acute Cytomegalovirus infection that responded well to corticotherapy and intraveneous immunoglobulins without using blood...

Severe cold agglutinin disease with hemodynamic compromise requires rapid stabilization of the autoimmune hemolytic anemia as a bridge to the immunosuppressive effect of rituximab. Herein, we describe eculizumab treatment of severe complement-mediated hemolysis in a patient whose hemodynamic status deteriorated in spite of supportive blood transfusions and therapeutic plasma exchange.

common variable immunodeficiency (cvid) is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and an increased susceptibility to recurrent infections as well as autoimmunity and malignancies. idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (itp) and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (aiha) are two autoimmune disorders which may be seen in association with cvid. among 85 cvid patients, seve...