[Ruth Cuadra]

Hi, welcome to Marrowforums. You've asked an interesting question and one that puzzled me at the time I was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. The reticulocyte count measures how fast red blood cells are made by the bone marrow and released into the blood. In the presence of a disease like AA where blood cells are being destroyed as fast as they are being produced, the body tries to compensate for the loss by pumping out new blood cells as fast as it can, resulting in a higher reticulocyte count. Your doctor sees this high count an as indication that your bone marrow is responding to the prednisone therapy. But if your counts are continuing to go down, it may be time to consider other treatments. The most commonly used treatment for AA, as you probably already know, is ATG (anti-thymocyte globulin). Have you discussed this option with your doctor?

Regards,
Ruth Cuadra