Macroglobulinemia is the presence of increased levels of

macroglobulin A macroglobulin is a plasma globulin of high molecular weight. Elevated levels of macroglobulins ( macroglobulinemia) may cause manifestations of excess blood viscosity (as is the case for IgM antibodies in Waldenström macroglobulinemia) and/or ...

s in the circulating

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

. It is a

plasma cell dyscrasia Plasma cell dyscrasias (also termed plasma cell disorders and plasma cell proliferative diseases) are a spectrum of progressively more severe monoclonal gammopathies in which a clone or multiple clones of pre-malignant or malignant plasma cells (s ...

, resembling

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

, with cells of lymphocytic, plasmacytic, or intermediate morphology, which secrete a monoclonal

immunoglobulin M Immunoglobulin M (IgM) is one of several isotypes of antibody (also known as immunoglobulin) that are produced by vertebrates. IgM is the largest antibody, and it is the first antibody to appear in the response to initial exposure to an antig ...

component. There is diffuse infiltration by the malignant cells of the bone marrow and also, in many cases, of the spleen, liver, or lymph nodes. The circulating macroglobulin can produce symptoms of hyperviscosity syndrome: weakness, fatigue, bleeding disorders, and visual disturbances. Peak incidence of macroglobulinemia is in the sixth and seventh decades of life. (Dorland, 28th ed)

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Blood disorders {{Immunology-stub

See also

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