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Old Thu Aug 18, 2011, 05:05 PM
DanL DanL is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Denver, CO
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Like most of us, I am no expert on either disease, but it seems reasonable that one of the primary obvious differences is cytogenetic changes, and the other being dysplasia. AA may have mild dysplasia, whereas MDS is defined by 10% or more of the cells in any line being dysplastic. Progression from AA to MDS would come from the same basic drivers that change diagnosis from MDS to AML. Marrow stress and the effect on stem cells and blood production probably leads to the conversion from one type to another.

from the following article (although it is a little older):

http://www.jpathology.com/Issues/Pre...mia_Nadeem.pdf

Aplastic Anaemia (AA) is defined as the presence of pancytopenia in the peripheral blood and a hypocellular marrow in which normal haemopoietic marrow is replaced by fat cells. Abnormal cells are not found in either the peripheral blood or the bone marrow. The diagnosis is based on the absence of cells, not the presence of any characteristic feature1. Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) is a disorder of haemopoietic stem cell and is characterized by variable degree of trilineage dysplasia and cytopenias in the face of a normal or hypercellular marrow reflecting ineffective haemopoiesis 2 . As compared to MDS, aplastic anaemia is more uniform clinical entity. Blood count findings are usually striking, the bone marrow morphology is unambiguous, and the response to therapy is relatively predictable.

just my 2cents.
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MDS RCMD w/grade 2-3 fibrosis. Allo-MUD Feb 26, 2014. Relapsed August 2014. Free and clear of MDS since November 2014 after treatment with Vidaza and Rituxan. Experiencing autoimmune attack on CNS thought to be GVHD, some gut, skin and ocular cGVHD. Neuropathy over 80% of body.
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