Can HLH be cured?
Can HLH be cured?
Stem cell transplant can cure HLH in most cases. There is no way to prevent HLH, but as healthcare providers continue to learn more about it, treatment improves. Most children who are successfully treated go on to live normal lives.
Is HLH a form of cancer?
HLH is not a cancer. Over the years cancer treatments have been used in patients with HLH. Consequently, Hematologists and Oncologists who treat cancer also treat children with HLH.
What does HLH do to the body?
HLH causes the overactive immune system to attack the body, causing organ damage. Children with this disease can have nervous system problems, spleen enlargement, and liver and lung damage. If HLH is causing nervous system problems in your child, you may notice symptoms such as: Irritability.
How is HLH diagnosed?
HLH can be diagnosed only with the proper tests. Blood tests include blood cell counts, liver function, infection studies, and markers of immune system activation such as ferritin and soluble IL-2 receptor levels. A bone marrow aspirate and biopsy may be performed to look for microscopic evidence of hemophagocytosis.
How many people in the world have HLH?
Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis occurs in approximately 1 in 50,000 individuals worldwide.
What can trigger HLH?
What causes acquired HLH?
- Viral infections, most often Epstein-Barr virus.
- Other infections from bacteria or fungi.
- Some types of cancer, such as T-cell lymphoma.
- Autoimmune diseases.
- Medicines that suppress the immune system.
What is the survival rate of HLH?
If left untreated, patients with HLH survive for only a few months, due to progressive multi-organ failure. In 1994, the Histiocyte Society organized the first treatment protocol for HLH (HLH-94), which dramatically increased this survival rate to 54 percent with a median follow-up of six years [ 1,2 ].
How do we treat HLH?
Chemotherapy (cancer drugs)
What is Mayo Clinic medical information?
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing.
What is cirrhosis of the liver Mayo Clinic?
The Mayo Clinic study was recently published in Hepatology. Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver caused by forms of liver diseases, such as chronic viral hepatitis, chronic alcohol abuse and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This condition is the consequence of damage done to the liver over many years.
