Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (Idiopathic)
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) can be described by defining the three words in its name:
- Immune: means the disease is caused by the immune system that produces antibodies that attack cells and the platelets themselves (cells that help blood to clot) of the person.
- Thrombocytopenia: means the disease is associated with low levels of platelets, another name given platelets.
- Purple: means that the disease causes a rash of red purple or caused by blood under the skin.
In summary, ITP is a disease in which low levels of platelets generally lead to purple and other abnormal forms of hemorrhage (bleeding).
In people with ITP, the immune system produces abnormal proteins called antiplatelet antibodies. These proteins are fixed to the surface of platelets from the blood as if platelets were “strange” or as if they were attacking to bacteria or viruses. As the affected platelets circulate in the blood, spleen recognizes them as abnormal and removed from the blood. As the spleen removes platelets, the blood platelet level drops to a lower limit than normal (about 130,000 per cubic milliliter of blood) and thrombocytopenia is diagnosed the patient.
When platelet levels fall within the range of 30,000 to 50,000, the person may begin to have abnormal bleeding after a minor injury to the skin, like a small cut, a bruise, an injection prescribed by a physician, blood tests or tooth extraction. If platelet levels fall below 10,000, the person has a high risk of bleeding even when no injury. This type of bleeding is especially dangerous if it happens inside the skull, intracranial hemorrhage called.
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