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Anemia: Cell Anemia
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Megaloblastic anemia - view of red blood cells Anemia is a global problem, at its worst in developing countries. But it is by no means absent in industrialized nations. An estimated 3.4 million Americans suffer from anemia. Anemia is not a single disease but a condition, like fever, with many possible causes and many forms. Causes of anemia include nutritional deficiencies, inherited genetic defects, medication-related side effects, and chronic disease. It can ... occur because of blood loss from injury or internal bleeding, the destruction of red blood cells, or insufficient red blood cell production.
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Anemia is a very common blood disorder affecting over 3 million men and women in the United States. It occurs when you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells in your bloodstream. Everyone’s blood is comprised of three types of cells: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red blood cells help to carry oxygen from your lungs to various parts of your body. It is your red blood cells that give your body the necessary energy to carry out various different biological tasks. Sometimes, people stop producing enough red blood cells, leaving them tired and weak.
A diseased kidney doesn't make enough EPO, and bone marrow then makes fewer oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Anemia is common in people with kidney disease. Healthy kidneys produce a hormone called erythropoietin, or EPO, which stimulates the bone marrow to produce the proper number of red blood cells needed to carry oxygen to vital organs. Diseased kidneys... often don't make enough EPO. As a result, the bone marrow makes fewer red blood cells. Other common causes of anemia include loss of blood from hemodialysis and low levels of iron and folic acid. These nutrients from food help young red blood cells make hemoglobin (Hgb), their main oxygen-carrying protein.
Anemia is diagnosed from the patient's symptoms and by a blood test that measures the level of hemoglobin in the blood, as well as substances such as folic acid, bilirubin and vitamin B12. Additionally, the size of the red cells provide further clues to the type of anemia. Other methods of diagnosis may include a bone marrow biopsy, which is the removal of bone marrow for further examination under a microscope. Bone marrow biopsy is helpful in diagnosing vitamin B12 anemia. Some dietitians suggest that the doctor ... check for levels of ferritin in the blood of premenopausal women. Ferritin is a protein that stores iron before the mineral circulates in the bloodstream.
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Anemia is a potentially life-threatening side effect experienced by more than 60 percent of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Chemotherapy drugs kill rapidly dividing cells in the body, including cancer cells and normal cells, such as cells in the bone marrow, responsible for red blood cell production. Red blood cells carry oxygen, which acts like fuel for the body providing energy for muscles and organs to work. Common symptoms can include tiredness, shortness of breath, dizziness and inability to concentrate.
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Anemia is caused by a deficiency in the intake and absorption elements required to make red blood cells. The condition is defined as one in which the blood is deficient in red blood cells, in hemoglobin, or in total volume. This results in blood that is incapable of meeting the oxygen needs of the body's tissues. Anemia is characterized by changes in the size and color of red blood cells. Red blood cells, or erythrocytes, are primarily responsible for oxygen transport from the lungs to the body's many cells. Hemoglobin is an oxygen-carrying protein in the red blood cell that incorporates iron into its structure.
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