#Shotty lymph nodes high platelets skin

Often, the disorder is found incidentally on a blood test as part of a routine exam before noticeable symptoms occur. The symptoms of polycythemia vera usually develop slowly over many years. Because MPNs are characterized by uncontrolled cell growth, they may also be classified as blood cancers. Three other disorders are commonly classified as MPNs: chronic myeloid leukemia, essential thrombocythemia and idiopathic myelofibrosis. Platelets are involved in clotting of the blood in response to injury. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body. This group of disorders is characterized by the overproduction (proliferation) of one or more of the three main blood cell lines – red or white blood cells or platelets. In 2008, the World Health Organization reclassified MPDs to “myeloproliferative neoplasms” (MPNs) to reflect the consensus that these diseases are blood cancers (neoplasms). The term “myeloproliferative disorder” (MPD) was first used to describe polycythemia vera and related disorders in 1951. Polycythemia vera was first reported in the medical literature in 1892. The exact role these variants play in the development of polycythemia vera is not yet known. More than 90 percent of individuals with polycythemia vera have a variant (mutation) in the JAK2 gene.

#Shotty lymph nodes high platelets skin

A variety of symptoms can occur in individuals with polycythemia vera including nonspecific symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, weakness, dizziness or itchy skin an enlarged spleen (splenomegaly) a variety of gastrointestinal issues and the risk of blood clot formation, which may prevent blood flow to vital organs. Thickened blood may not flow through smaller blood vessels properly. Consequently, the blood thickens and increases in volume, a condition called hyperviscosity. Since red blood cells are overproduced in the marrow, this leads to abnormally high numbers of circulating red blood cells (red blood mass) within the blood. The overproduction of red blood cells is most dramatic, but the production of white blood cells and platelets are also elevated in most patients. Polycythemia vera is a rare, chronic disorder involving the overproduction of blood cells in the bone marrow (myeloproliferation).

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