Reference intervals for clinical laboratory parameters are important for assessing eligibility, toxicity grading and management of adverse events in clinical trials. Nonetheless, haematological and biochemical parameters used for clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa are typically derived from industrialized countries, or from WHO references that are not region-specific. We set out to establish...

A case of Ebstein's anomaly associated with chronic right heart failure, hepatosplenomegaly, and the haematological features of hypersplenism is presented. The haematological abnormalities were corrected after tricuspid valve replacement but recurred with the reemergence of clinical features of right heart failure.

Anaemia, leucopenia and thrombocytopenia in various combinations develop during the course of the various lymphomas either before and almost always after treatment. Basic haematological investigations viz. full blood count, peripheral blood film and ESR, may provide clues to the extent (spread) of disease in lymphomas. Thus, anaemia would suggest widespread disease, and is rare in the early sta...

Haematological cancer in pregnancy, although rare, poses a substantial risk to both mother and fetus. Hodgkin's lymphoma is the most common, followed by non-Hodgkin lymphoma and acute leukaemia. Diagnosis of haematological cancers is challenged by an overlap of the disease and gestation-related symptoms and limitations of imaging studies in pregnancy. Data for safety and effectiveness of therap...

Our purpose was to compile information on the haematological manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), namely leucopenia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and myelofibrosis. During our search of the English-language MEDLINE sources, we did not place a date-of-publication constraint. Hence, we have reviewed...

Autoimmune diseases affect around 5% of the population but until recently, although the pathological features of these disorders could be described, there was little idea about the aetiology. Through the development of animal models and the identification of target genes some insight is being gained into the pathogenetic basis of these complex diseases. Blood disorders in which autoantibodies a...

Angiogenesis, the growth of new capillary blood vessels, is a central regulator of cancer growth, and a validated target for cancer therapy. The antiangiogenic agents in clinical use target one or more cellular pathways involved in the cascade of vascular growth. In haematological malignancies, angiogenesis occurs within a bone marrow ecosystem comprised of closely apposed malignant cells, endo...

Brucellosis is a major health problem in many parts of the world, particularly in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Very few data on the frequency and diversity of haematological abnormalities occurring in brucellosis have been reported. In the present study 85 patients with brucellosis in Imam Khomeini Hospital during 1997-2002 were investigated retrospectively to determine the haematological...

The taunt about yesterday's remedies was that they were largely ineffectual. Today's treatment is often extremely effective but unfortunately has frequent bad effects, and much of modem therapeutic effort has to be directed at recognising and preventing morbidity from useful drugs. One group of organs that suffers much from drug-induced ills is the blood and the blood-forming tissues. In many h...