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Old Mon Jan 25, 2010, 11:44 PM
Hopeful Hopeful is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: California, USA
Posts: 766
Not to confuse things further, but do you know what your absolute reticulocyte count was at diagnosis?

I remember seeing a presentation on the AA&MDS International Foundation website that said having a normal or high absolute reticulocyte count at diagnosis was one of the most promising indicators that someone would respond to ATG. I think the chance of a response to ATG was something around 80%. The fact that you had a partial response to cyclosporine also makes it seem like your disease is immune related.

Have you considered the possibility of doing ATG without cyclosporine? They do a skin sensitivity test first to determine if you are hyper-sensitive to the ATG. Also, do you know what dose of cyclosporine you were on before? If it was more then 5 mg/kg/day, that could be the reason for your extreme reaction to it. Current research indicates that more than this just causes increased toxicity without any added benefit. However, some doctor's aren't up on the latest research and will prescribe higher doses.

Mild red cell aplasia can be seen with aplastic anemia.

Have you been tested for PNH with flow cytometry?
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55 yo female, dx 9/08, AA/hypo-MDS, subclinical PNH, ATG/CsA 12/08, partial response. small trisomy 6 clone, low-dose cyclosporine dependent
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