pyne
Silver Member
Joined: 12 Feb 2002
Posts: 237
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 Posted: 12/16/05 - 10:11 Post subject: |
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Hello there! I may have some general info for you! I found this on the internet, found it strange because I have never heard of it before, so I kept it on my computer to learn more about it one day. Anyway, hope you can find it useful. Multiple Myeloma is part of a spectrum of diseases called Plasma Cell Dyscrasia. Plasma cells are those that make antibodies against bacteria and foreign proteins. For some reasons, these cells can lose their ability to respond to controlling signals from a hierarchy of immune cells and can divide and make abnormal proteins, which can result in damage to the bone, the bone marrow, and other organs of the body. So, you can call it cancer of the plasma cells. Common clinical manifestations of multiple myeloma are hypercalcemia, anemia, renal damage, increased susceptibility to bacterial infection, and impaired production of normal immunoglobulin. It can be characterized by diffuse osteoporosis, usually in the pelvis, spine, ribs, and skull. There are often no symptoms in the early stages of myeloma. In some cases, myeloma may be discovered by accident during routine blood testing. When present, symptoms may be vague and similar to those of other conditions. I don’t know about you, but it took ma ages to figure all of this. One needs to understand how plasma cells become immune cells, and it seems to me that getting this involves a whole systematic study!!!!! Good luck!
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