| Summary: | The Μyelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) constitute a large, extremely heterogeneous group of blood diseases characterized by an increased proliferation, an abnormal dysplastic differentiation and increased apoptosis of one or more myeloid series. Their frequency increases with age. MDS have an insidious onset with mild leucopenia, anemia and thrombocytopenia, alone or in combination, which usually progresses, with extremely varying speed, to acute myelogenous leukemia. Classification of the MDS is complicated, but some types have specific features which allow their inclusion in distinct groups. Most important among them are the caryotypic abnormalities, which also have a major prognostic value. For the tome being, MDS have no definitive cure. Their management is basically supportive with hemopoietic factors (erythropoietin), red cell and platelet transfusions, and, when the indications are clear, allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Administration of demethylating agents or inhibitors of histone de-acetylation constitute another promising therapeutic approach.
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