Myelodysplastic Syndrome Symptoms

Myelodysplastic syndromes (or MDS) are a group of disorders that keenly affects the bone marrow and its production of blood cells in the body. People who developed MDS have abnormal levels of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets due to erratic activities of stem cells inside the bone marrow. The illness usually occurs in elderly people, about age 50 and above; but younger individuals also get inflicted. It is a disease that changes the life of the patients.

Myelodysplastic syndrome symptoms vary so it is oftentimes overlooked during diagnosis. Researches show that MDS is rarely inherited. In many cases, its cause is unknown. Although several risk factors like exposure to benzene is linked to the occurrence and development of MDS in patients. The term secondary MDS refers to cases that followed after cancer treatments like chemotherapy. The potent drugs used in chemotherapy are known to be toxic to the bone marrow.

What are the Common Myelodysplastic Syndrome Symptoms?

Symptoms of MDS may differ depending on the age of the patient and the stage of the illness upon diagnosis. Most of the signs also have great similarity to symptoms of other diseases that MDS is often hard to diagnose. The patient often has to undergo complete physical examination and a thorough medical/health history before positive results can be obtained.

Anemia is one of the most common sign of MDS. This is due to the reduced number of red blood cells circulating in the bloodstream. Anemia is often accompanied by chronic fatigue, chilled sensation, and shortness of breath. When the level of white blood cells is very low, neutropenia occurs as another symptom of MDS. The patient is more susceptible to infections due to lack of neutrophil cells in the blood. Other MDS symptoms include: unusually pale skin, chest pain, uncontrolled bleeding, and easy bruising.

What are the Clinical Examinations that Help Diagnose Myelodysplastic Syndrome?

A complete blood count and blood smear test will be performed to see if there were any unusual occurrences with the blood cells and platelets. If the blood cell count was shown as abnormally low, the next test called biopsy will involve getting a bone marrow sample. A special testing called cytogenetics will take a close look at the chromosomes found within the bone marrow cells taken from the patient. When chromosomes count is not normal, the patient is MDS positive.

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