Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT) is a rare inherited disorder.

Presentation

The primary manifestations are

thrombocytopenia Thrombocytopenia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of platelets, also known as thrombocytes, in the blood. It is the most common coagulation disorder among intensive care patients and is seen in a fifth of medical patients an ...

and megakaryocytopenia, or low numbers of platelets and megakaryocytes. There is an absence of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow with no associated physical abnormalities.

Cause

The cause for this disorder appears to be a mutation in the gene for the TPO receptor, ''c-mpl'', despite high levels of serum TPO. In addition, there may be abnormalities with the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...

including the

cerebrum The cerebrum, telencephalon or endbrain is the largest part of the brain containing the cerebral cortex (of the two cerebral hemispheres), as well as several subcortical structures, including the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfactory bulb. In ...

and

cerebellum The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cerebel ...

which could cause symptoms.

Diagnosis

Treatment

The primary treatment for CAMT is

bone marrow transplantation Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produc ...

. Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant is the only thing that ultimately cures this genetic disease. Frequent platelet transfusions are required to ensure that platelet levels do not fall to dangerous levels, although this is not always the case. It is known for patients to continue to create very small numbers of platelets over time.

References

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