Aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome are two different blood disorders or hematologic disorders that affect the blood, hindering it from performing its normal functions. Both are uncommon but serious diseases.
The key difference between aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome is their cause. Aplastic anemia is a condition where bone marrow produces damaged stem cells while myelodysplastic syndrome is a condition where bone marrow produces many stem cells.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Aplastic Anemia
3. What is Myelodysplastic Syndrome
4. Similarities – Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome
5. Aplastic Anemia vs Myelodysplastic Syndrome in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Aplastic Anemia vs Myelodysplastic Syndrome
7. FAQ – Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome
What is Aplastic Anemia?
Aplastic anemia is a rare, serious blood condition that occurs when bone marrow cannot produce enough new blood cells and platelets for the body to work properly. In the United States, each year, 300 to 900 people receive an aplastic anemia diagnosis. The typical symptoms of this condition are frequent viral infections that last longer, fatigue, bleeding or bruising more easily, shortness of breath, paler skin colour, dizziness, headache, and fever. Aplastic anemia happens when the immune system attacks the bone marrow so it cannot make the normal amount of stem cells.
Aplastic anemia can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, complete blood count, peripheral blood smear, reticulocyte count, and bone marrow aspiration. Furthermore, treatment options for aplastic anemia are immunosuppressants, blood transfusions, antibiotics, and allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
What is Myelodysplastic Syndrome?
A myelodysplastic syndrome is a group of cancers that happens when the blood stem cells don’t become healthy blood cells. Approximately 12,000 Americans get different types of myelodysplastic syndrome each year. In myelodysplastic syndrome, the bone marrow produces too many stem cells that do not mature correctly. This causes abnormal cells to enter the bloodstream. The symptoms of myelodysplastic syndrome may include constant tiredness, unusual bleeding, bruises and tiny red marks under the skin, paleness, and shortness of breath. Most of the cases of myelodysplastic syndrome have no known cause. However, other cases are caused by exposure to cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, or to toxic chemicals, such as benzene.
Myelodysplastic syndromes can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, blood tests, and bone marrow biopsy. Furthermore, treatment options for myelodysplastic syndrome may include blood transfusions, medications such as growth factors, drugs that stimulate the blood cells to mature, drugs that suppress or control the immune system used in certain myelodysplastic syndromes, drugs that help in genetic abnormality (lenalidomide) and bone marrow transplantation.
Similarities Between Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome
- Aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome are two different blood disorders.
- Both conditions have overlapping symptoms, such as paleness in the skin, shortness of breath, etc.
- They are uncommon but serious diseases.
- Both can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, and blood tests.
- They can be treated through blood transfusion and bone marrow transplant.
Difference Between Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Definition
- Aplastic anemia occurs when bone marrow cannot produce enough new blood cells and platelets.
- Myelodysplastic syndrome occurs when immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature.
Who Are Affected
- Aplastic anemia affects children and young adults.
- Myelodysplastic syndrome affects adults over 60.
Frequency
- In the United States, each year, 300 to 900 people are diagnosed with aplastic anemia.
- In the United States, each year, 12000 people are diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome.
Causes
- Aplastic anemia is caused by the immune system attacking the bone marrow in which it cannot make the normal amount of stem cells.
- Most of the cases of myelodysplastic syndrome have no known cause, but some cases are caused by exposure to cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, or toxic chemicals, such as benzene.
Symptoms
- Symptoms of aplastic anemia include fatigue, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, pale skin, frequent infections, easy bruising, bleeding gums, prolonged bleeding from the cuts, skin rash, dizziness, headache, and fever.
- Symptoms of myelodysplastic syndrome include fatigue, shortness of breath, unusual paleness, easy or unusual bruising, petechiae, and frequent infections.
Diagnosis
- Aplastic anemia can be diagnosed by medical history, physical examination, complete blood count, peripheral blood smear, reticulocyte count, and bone marrow aspiration.
- Myelodysplastic syndrome can be diagnosed by medical history, physical examination, blood tests, and bone marrow biopsy.
Treatment
- Treatments for aplastic anemia include providing prescribed immunosuppressants, blood transfusions, antibiotics, and allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
- Treatments for myelodysplastic syndrome include blood transfusions, specific medications, and bone marrow transplantation.
The following table summarizes the difference between aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.
Summary – Aplastic Anemia vs Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome are two blood disorders. Aplastic anemia occurs when the stem cells that make blood cells in the bone marrow are destroyed, leading to a shortage of healthy blood cells. On the other hand, myelodysplastic syndrome occurs when there is abnormal blood cell production and a lack of mature, properly functioning blood cells. This is the summary of the difference between aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.
FAQ: Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome
1. What causes aplastic anemia?
- The main cause of aplastic anemia is when the immune system attacks the stem cells in the bone marrow. Other factors that can injure bone marrow and affect blood cell production are radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
2. Can aplastic anemia be cured?
- There are certain treatments for aplastic anemia. They include blood and bone marrow stem cell transplants, blood transfusion, and giving medications such as prescribed immunosuppressants, antibiotics, etc.
3. What is the main cause of Myelodysplastic syndrome?
- For most people, the cause of myelodysplastic syndrome is not identified. However, some cases can be due to changes in the DNA, exposure to cancer treatments (chemotherapy and radiation), or to toxic chemicals, such as benzene.
4. What is myelodysplastic syndrome life expectancy?
- People with low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes can live for five years or more with current treatments and supportive care. People with high-risk MDS have a reduced life expectancy.
5. Does MDS turn into leukemia?
- Myelodysplastic syndrome refers to a group of cancers that happens when the blood stem cells don’t become healthy blood cells. Therefore, there is a chance about 25% to 30% of people with MDS will develop acute myeloid leukemia, which is a fast-growing cancer of bone marrow cells.
Reference:
1. “Aplastic Anemia.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
2. “Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS): Causes, Symptoms, Treatment.” WebMD.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Nucleated red blood cell (RBC) in a Wright’s stained peripheral blood smear (PBS) microscopy of an aplastic anemia patient” By Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Figure 1” By Libertas Academica (CC BY 2.0 DEED) via Flickr
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