Polycythemia Vera

Polycythemia vera is a cancer that affects blood. Your bone marrow produces an excess of red blood
cells as a result. These extra cells make your blood thicker and cause it to flow more slowly, which can
lead to significant issues like blood clots.

Polycythemia vera is very uncommon. Since it normally takes time to develop you can go years without
realizing you have it. This condition is frequently discovered after a blood test that was conducted for
another purpose.

Polycythemia vera can be fatal if left untreated. However, receiving the right medical attention might
lessen this disease's symptoms and complications.

SYMPTOMS

Many persons with polycythemia vera don't exhibit any overt symptoms or indicators. Some persons
may experience nonspecific symptoms such headaches, nausea, fatigue, and blurred vision.

Specific symptoms of polycythemia vera includes the following:

-itchiness, mainly after a warm bath.

-numbness or weakness in your hands , feet, arms or legs.

-abnormal bleeding, such as bleeding gums or random nosebleeds.

-breathing difficulty while lying down.

CAUSES

When a gene mutation results in a difficulty with blood cell synthesis, polycythemia vera develops. Red
blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are the three different types of blood cells that are normally
controlled by your body. The bone marrow produces an excessive amount of some of these blood cells
in polycythemia vera.

Although it is uncertain what caused the gene mutation in polycythemia vera, the condition is typically
not passed down from your parents.

RISK FACTORS

Polycythemia is more common in men than women, yet women frequently get the disease at an earlier
age. It can start at any age but you’re more probable to get polycythemia after the age of 60.

Factors that can increase your risk of developing blood clots in PV include:

-a past history of blood clots.

-high blood pressure

-high cholesterol

-diabetes

-smoking

-pregnancy

COMPLICATIONS

Blood clots. Your risk of blood clots is increased by increased blood thickness, decreased blood flow,
abnormalities in your platelets, and more. Blood clots can result in a heart attack, a stroke, or a blockage
in a vein deep inside a thigh muscle or in the belly.

problems brought on by an excess of red blood cells. Stomach ulcers, swelling in your joints, and open
sores on the inner lining of your stomach, upper small intestine, or esophagus are just a few more issues
that can result from having too many red blood cells.

swollen spleen Your spleen aids in the body's ability to combat infection and filters undesired substances
like degraded or old blood cells. Your spleen grows as a result of the polycythemia vera-related increase
in blood cells, which makes it work harder than usual.

other blood conditions. Rarely, polycythemia vera can cause other blood disorders such as cancer of the
blood and bone marrow, a condition in which stem cells don't mature or function properly.

TREATMENT

Polycythemia vera is a chronic disease for which there is no treatment. Medication, however, can assist
you in managing its symptoms and assist in avoiding problems.

FREQUENCY

Globally, polycythemia vera is not as common as it formerly was. In the US, the illness affects 44 to 57
people out of every 100,000 people. Men are more likely than women to develop polycythemia vera for
unknown causes.

INHERITANCE PATTERN

The majority of polycythemia vera cases are not inherited. Genetic mutations that are somatic, or
acquired over a person's lifespan and present only in specific cells, are linked to this illness.

Rarely, it has been discovered that polycythemia vera runs in families. The likelihood of developing
polycythemia vera appears to be inherited in some of these families according to an autosomal
dominant pattern. Although the origin of polycythemia vera in family situations is unknown, autosomal
dominant inheritance means that one copy of a mutated gene in each cell is sufficient to raise the risk of
developing the disorder. People in these families appear to inherit a higher risk of polycythemia vera,
but not the actual illness.

TRISOMY OR MONOSOMY?

Analysis of chromosomal banding patterns in PV reveals that certain nonrandom abnormalities occur,
including +8, +9, 20q−, and trisomy of 1q.

Trisomy 1q is a rare chromosomal anomaly syndrome, resulting from the partial duplication of the long
arm of chromosome 1.