Bone marrow depression symptoms may be noticed if you have received chemotherapy or radiation therapy. These types of treatment are harmful to the bone marrow and can cause irreparable damage. Depending on the cause of your disease, your doctor may reduce the amount of chemotherapy or radiation to allow the marrow to recover. Your doctor may also recommend a bone marrow transplant, which will help replenish your blood cells.
Symptoms of bone marrow depression can vary depending on the cause and may include anemia, diarrhea, decreased resistance to infection, and fatigue. In addition, your physician may recommend routine surveillance and other tests. Some patients may need to receive transfusions to replenish their blood. Other patients may require blood stem cell transplants from healthy donors.
Patients with bone marrow failure may develop aplastic anemia, a condition that is characterized by a deficiency in the production of blood stem cells. This can occur at any age, but can become life threatening if left untreated. Doctors are not entirely sure of the causes of aplastic anemia, but it can be caused by a variety of factors. It can be inherited or developed as a result of exposure to certain toxic chemicals or drugs. Having aplastic anemia can lead to an increased sensitivity to infections, which can make the process of treating the condition much more difficult.
Myelosuppression, another type of bone marrow depression, can happen if you’ve been treated for blood-related cancer. It is caused by medications that slow down the division of stem cells. Generally, mild cases of myelosuppression are not treated, while severe cases require treatment. If you have myelosuppression, you can expect to experience anemia, as well as easy or hard bruising. You may also be prone to other problems, such as infections and nutritional deficiencies. Typically, the symptoms will resolve when the person stops using the medication. However, severe myelosuppression can be very serious and even fatal.
When your body is not producing enough leukocytes (white blood cells), it will be unable to fight infection. People with a low platelet count will also have a hard time fighting off germs. They are also prone to bleeding, which can be dangerous.
Aplastic anemia is often caused by radiation or a chemotherapy treatment, though it is also a possible symptom of other medical conditions. Regardless of the cause, your doctor will likely recommend treatment to help increase your blood counts.
Patients with bone marrow failure need special attention and care. Treatment can include antibiotics, fluid replacement, and preventing infection. Depending on the cause, your doctor may prescribe growth factor injections or a bone marrow resuscitation therapy. Those with irreparable bone marrow damage, such as a cancer that has spread to the marrow, may require a bone marrow transplant.
Bone marrow depression symptoms can be diagnosed through blood tests, which may show a reduction in lymphocytes in the peripheral blood chemistry profile. Other tests, such as blood molecular sequencing, bone marrow assessments, or bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, may be recommended before confirming the diagnosis.
