Ghazanfar M, Aziz M, Khan S.
Frequency of cure with cyclosporin therapy in patients with aplastic anemia.
Biomedica Jan ;30(4):258-62.

Aplastic Anemia (AA) is rare haemopoietic stem cell disorder characterized by pancytopenia in peripheral blood and hypocellular marrow in which normal haemopoietic marrow is replaced by fat cells. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of cure with cyclosporin therapy in patients with aplastic anemia. Materials and Methods: It was a descriptive case series study carried in the Department of Haematology, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. The study was completed in six months from January 2010 to July 2010. It was a hospital based case series of 45 patients suffering from aplastic anemia who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The patients were given cyclosporin for six months and cure was assessed after 3 and 6 months by haematological parameters. Standard procedures were followed for all laboratory tests. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 10. Results: After six months of cyclosporin therapy, 6 (21.4%) patients were cured .Seven (25%) were partial responders and 15(54%) were non responders. Conclusion: In developing countries like Pakistan majority of patients cannot afford bone marrow transplant and antithymocyte globulin (as these are expensive options) hence cyclosporin which is a relatively inexpensive drug is a valuable therapeutic option.

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