Immune Thrombocytopenia

[CC2007]

My husband was diagnosed with ITP about 8 years ago. His platelet counts usually hover around 25k or less. The only thing he drastically responded to was a sudden dose of 150 mg. of prednisone when he went down to 13k.  However, he refuses to ever take it again due to the way it makes him feel.

Winrho and Rituxan and Immunoglobulin yielded minimal and temporary results.  He does not want to chance having his spleen removed for fear of his situation going from bad to worse because sometimes the liver will take over destroying the platelets.

I was wondering if there were any new treatments that anyone has had any success with or if anyone knew of anything new on the horizon.

Thanks!

[AlfredaB]

Hi,
    I am new to this community. My 95 yo Grandmother was diagnosed with ITP 2 months ago. when a CBC was done during a ER visit for leg pain her platlet count was 2,000. After TX with packed platelets there was no change. Steroids and iv immunoglobulins were tried with no results also. She feel while in the hospital, and her health was quickly getting worse.We made the decision to take her home,per her request.
   After a few weeks at home ,with the help of a physical therapist, we had her walking again, her mental status was improving. So we decided to check the platlets and try to seek other options of tx.At this time the platelets were 1,000. At the suggestion of a hematoligist we decided to try a new medication NPlate. She just had her 3rd shot  on wednesday . her platelet count was at 18,000 just before the 3rd tx was given. Things are looking better.
    The problem with this medication came to my attn when i recieved the first bill from the infusion center. The medication costs $5,439 per injection. as medicare only pays 80%. The bills are starting to add up quickly. But I would sell my soul  to make sure she gets the tx she needs. But if anyone out there knows of any place to get help with this please let me know. We have applied for medicaid. But  havent had any reply from them yet. Any  assistance anyone knows of would be appreciated.
  

[Dr Santos]

Hi,

Aside from corticosteroids,  other treatment option for Immune Thrombocytopenia are splenectomy, danazol, vinca alkaloids, azathioprine , colchicine , and immunoglobulin but have significant adverse effects. This is not a new treatment, however, i came across this journal: http://www.pdsa.org/itp-journal-stories/vitcart.htIm

Discuss this with your doctor and it is recommended to have regular follo-up appointments for monitoring of his platelet count. Take care and regards.