A woman in her 50s battling advanced breast cancer developed a rare blood disorder called cold agglutinin disease (CAD) as a direct complication of her chemotherapy treatment. According to a recent case study, the woman’s immune system began attacking her own red blood cells after she received paclitaxel. While…
Discussion
Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with rituximab. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. The first house I remember living in was rather small — small enough that Dad could sit in the hallway and read…
Discussion
Attending elementary school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, was just the basis of my education. At age 5, I began doing needlepoint and other forms of needlework. Among these was lace-making in the form of tatting. I was not very good at it, nor at…
A woman in her 50s developed cold agglutinin disease (CAD) and kidney injury as rare complications of a bacterial lung infection caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae), according to a case report. Although these infections can trigger the production of cold agglutinins, the self-reactive antibodies that cause CAD, in up…
Discussion
Thursday was a good day for watching TV in the mid-1960s. I would rush through my homework and piano practice, and settle in from 7 to 9 p.m. to enjoy wonderful sitcoms. But little did I realize that on another network, on Sept. 8, 1966, a science fiction show called…
Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare disorder in which the immune system mistakenly attacks red blood cells, resulting in anemia.
CAD is characterized by autoantibodies, called cold agglutinins, binding to and activating the destruction of red blood cells when exposed to cold temperatures.
Symptoms of CAD include fatigue, Raynaud’s syndrome, joint pain, jaundice or skin discoloration, and heart problems. These symptoms can worsen with more cold exposure.
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