Ellen O’Neill, a native of Bray on the eastern coast of Ireland, works in home help in addition to caring for her elderly father.
However, she herself became the patient in May 2005 when she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) at the age of 50.
That May, O’Neill began having hot flashes, flu-like symptoms, and fatigue. She attributed the symptoms to menopause and went to see her doctor in October 2005 for blood tests and to discuss starting hormone replacement therapy.
About a week later, her doctor called her…
In this edition of his quarterly column for The MDS Beacon, Dr. Steensma answers the question, “Where does the name myelodysplastic syndromes come from?” The column will be published as a two-part series. In Part 1, Dr. Steensma describes the history of the disease name. In Part 2, he will address the origins of the name.
Although every English-speaking adult has heard the word “leukemia” and most people have at least some sense what sort of disease leukemia represents, the term “myelodysplastic syndromes” (MDS) is not widely…
Results of a small French study suggest that the use of Vidaza and Revlimid as a first-line therapy in higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes patients with several chromosomal abnormalities is effective and tolerable.
The most common side effects were low blood cell counts, which required close monitoring. However, the study authors concluded from these results that the side effects were acceptable when compared to conventional chemotherapy, which is often ineffective and intolerable in high-risk patients.
Previous research has shown that the combination therapy of Vidaza (azacitidine) and Revlimid (lenalidomide) is…
Results of a recent Chinese study suggest that a new set of criteria for selecting myelodysplastic syndromes patients for immunosuppressive therapy can improve treatment response rates and reduce the share of patients progressing to leukemia.
The study authors found that treatment response rates in their trial were directly associated with the number of screening criteria patients met. For patients who met all screening criteria, 100 percent responded to therapy.
In myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), the bone marrow produces an excess of developing blood cells that are unable to properly mature and function.…
New research from Japan indicates that low levels of the blood protein ferritin are associated with better outcomes in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients who undergo stem cell transplantation.
“In both [standard- and high-risk] MDS, elevated ferritin has a negative effect on the outcomes of transplantation,” said study author Dr. Takayoshi Tachibana of the Yokohama City University Medical Center in Yokohama, Japan.
Dr. Tachibana pointed out that patients with elevated ferritin levels should nevertheless undergo stem cell transplantation because “We think transplantation is the most promising therapy [for MDS patients].”
Instead…