Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Excerpt
MDS originates from mutations in a normal stem cell (a multipotential hematopoietic cell) in the marrow (see Figure 1, page 4). With MDS, blood cell production in the marrow is usually increased and the marrow becomes filled with more than the normal number of developing blood cells. The blood is usually deficient in cells because the developing cells in the marrow die as they approach maturity, before they would normally be released into the blood. This leads to reduction in the number of circulating red cells (anemia), neutrophils (neutropenia) and platelets (thrombocytopenia).
