| Summary: | Lymphoproliferative disorders may be polyclonal and benign, usually occurring in association with viral or other infections, the main example being infectious mononucleosis, an illness of young people with an extremely polymorphic picture. They can also be monoclonal such as the chronic lymphocytic leukemias, which represent conditions of varying lymphocytosis caused by the unjustified, uncontrollable and useless accumulation of the lymphocytes in the peripheral blood mainly as a result of inhibition of their apoptosis. As a rule, chronic lymphocytic leukemias are initially asymptomatic, but they gradually develop symptoms and various complications such as spleen and lymph node enlargement, auto-immune hemolytic anemia and low immunoglobulins. <br/>On the other hand, lymphopenias are more rare and may be either hereditary (decreased production or malfunction of lymphocytes) or acquired (secondary) as a result of viral infections (e.g. HIV) or intensive chemotherapy and immunosuppression following transplantation or administration of anti-lymphocytic sera.
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