Discussion Forums > Thalassemia Major
Slow rate transfusion and warm antibody
Sharmin:
Thank you all - the day went well. We are hopeful that things will improve soon.
I wish you all good health.
Love,
Sharmin
Sharmin:
Thank you Sah - best wishes to your family :hugfriend
Sharmin:
Andy,
My son will be going in for a blood test tomorrow morning - we pray for the best. He was transfused 1 1/2 weeks ago - his post hg was 124 and he has been on 50mg/day of prednisone since. I can't really tell if he is low right now. I hope his hg held up because he is on such a big dose of steriod, I have been very careful about his diet - but his cheeks have gotten quite big - it's quite sad to look at him because he looks so different - and people are commenting. He seems to be handling it well - luckily things return to normal once the dose is tapered down. The most important thing is that this antibody is under control.
The doctor also mentioned retuximab - do you know anything about this procedure. I understand that the results are not always permanent but they give the body a break from hemolysis and steroids for a while by stopping antibody production.
Thank you everyone for your prayers - I wish you all the best:)
Sharmin
§ãJ¡Ð ساجد:
Wishing you all the best :goodluck
Andy Battaglia:
Hi Sharmin,
Rituximab (brand name Rituxan) is used to eradicate the B lymphocytes. This drug is often used in cancer patients after chemotherapy has been finished. It is also used in lupus and rheumatoid and other autoimmune disorders, as a way to prevent the actions of the B cells. I found an article about its use with leukemia patients who have Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). When looking at this article, please ignore what are the effects of leukemia because this has no relevance to your son's case. What does have relevance is that use of this drug did work to counter AIHA.
http://www.nature.com/leu/journal/v16/n10/full/2402676a.html
--- Quote ---Our results indicate that a rituximab-based combination regimen (RCD) is highly effective in treating steroid refractory AIHA of CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia)....This work was made possible by research grant support to Dr Kanti R Rai from The Chemotherapy Foundation, The Edward Brodsky Fund and The Joel Finkelstein Cancer Foundation.
--- End quote ---
Basically, what was found was that this did was suppress the AIHA for a median period of 13 months in these patients. This may be an option for your son, but I would suggest that you do not try this until you have also discussed it with Dr Vichinsky. Also, my part time worker has Rituxan treatments 6 months after his chemo for lymphoma and I will ask about side effects etc. He had the treatments on Fridays and never had any problem with working his days the following Wednesdays and Thursdays.
I hope there is some improvement in your son's results this time. 50 mg is a high dose and we don't want to see him on that dose for long.
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