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$Title{What is Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura?}
$Subject{immune blood ITP thrombocytes platelets clotting idiopathic
Autoimmune Thrombocytopenia Purpura ATP Werlhof's Disease splenectomy}
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Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993   Tribune Media Services, Inc.


What is Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura?


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QUESTION:  I was diagnosed by my physician approximately six months ago with a
blood disorder referred to as idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP).  I've
been unable to find sufficient reading material regarding this disease.  Any
information would be helpful.  I am currently in remission.

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ANSWER:  Whenever faced with these gigantic medical terms, we can learn a bit
by explaining them piece by piece.  Let's start at the end.  A "purpura" is a
purple or reddish brown discoloration seen through the skin, caused by blood
hemorrhaging into the tissues.  In ITP the thrombocytes (platelets), which are
an important part of the clotting mechanism that controls such bleeding, are
not present in the blood in normal amounts.  Any medical term which ends in
"penia" means that there is an abnormal reduction in numbers, for "penia"
comes from the Greek term meaning "poverty".  "Idiopathic" means that the
disease (or pathology) has a spontaneous origin, or more literally an unknown
cause.  The fact is that much is now known about ITP, and that the reason the
platelets (or thrombocytes) are few in number is that they are being destroyed
by an immune factor (antibody).  Thus we now call the disease "Autoimmune
Thrombocytopenia Purpura" (ATP) or by an older name, Werlhof's Disease.  In
one of those interesting stories that makes medicine so fascinating, in 1951
an American hematologist, William Harrington, who believed there was an
immunological explanation for the disease, injected himself with plasma from a
patient and developed the disease himself.  A good deal of research is going
on to explain all the mechanisms of the disease, and it can be treated with
large doses of corticosteroid (cortisone-like medication), as well as other
medications, with great success.  When medications fail to produce the desired
results, splenectomy, or removal of the spleen, may be considered.  Now that
you have some new insight, and a few more terms to search for, I hope your
reading will be more rewarding.  The fact that you are currently in remission
is an excellent sign, but as you have probably been told, does not represent a
permanent state.

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The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician.  Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.