Anemia, meaning "without blood" is defined as a qualitative or quantitative deficiency of hemoglobin, a molecule found inside red blood cells (RBCs). Since hemoglobin normally carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, anemia leads to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) in organs. Since all human cells depend on oxygen for survival, varying degrees of anemia can have a wide range of clinical consequences. Anemia is caused by the lack of iron in the body as well.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (also known as "chronic lymphoid leukemia" or "CLL"), is a type of leukemia, or cancer of the white blood cells (lymphocytes). CLL affects a particular lymphocyte, the B cell, which originates in the bone marrow, develops in the lymph nodes, and normally fights infection. In CLL, the DNA of a B cell is damaged, so that it can't fight infection, but it grows out of control and crowds out the healthy blood cells that can fight infection.
Glioma or glioblastoma multiforme is a type of cancer that starts in the brain or spine. It is called a glioma because it arises from glial cells. The most common site of gliomas is the brain. Gliomas cannot be cured. The prognosis for patients with high-grade gliomas is generally poor, and is especially so for older patients. Of 10,000 Americans diagnosed each year with malignant gliomas, about half are alive 1 year after diagnosis, and 25% after two years. Glioblastoma multiforme has a worst prognosis.
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a common complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in which functional immune cells in the transplanted marrow recognize the recipient as "foreign" and mount an immunologic attack against normal cells and tissues.
Hemophilia A is a genetic disorder that results in a deficiency in the production of the Factor VIII (fVIII) protein in the blood. Factor VIII is a key protein in the coagulation or blood-clotting pathway. Hemophilia A affects 1:5000 males world-wide.
Inflammation is a complex biological response of tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue. Inflammation is not a synonym for infection.
Influenza, commonly known as ("the") flu, is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses). Common symptoms of the disease are chills and fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort. In more serious cases, influenza causes pneumonia, which can be fatal, particularly in young children and the elderly.
Flu spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics, killing millions of people in pandemic years and hundreds of thousands in non-pandemic years. Three influenza pandemics occurred in the 20th century and killed tens of millions of people, with each of these pandemics being caused by the appearance of a new strain of the virus in humans. Often, these new strains result from the spread of an existing flu virus to humans from other animal species. A deadly avian strain named H5N1 has posed the greatest risk for a new influenza pandemic since it first killed humans in Asia in the 1990s. Fortunately, this virus has not mutated to a form that spreads easily between people.
Leukemia or leukaemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of white blood cells. Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases which include acute and chronic forms of lymphocytic and myelogenous leukemias (ALL, CLL, AML & CML).
