Treatment with erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production, safely increases hemoglobin levels in adults with cold agglutinin disease (CAD) and other autoimmune hemolytic anemias (AIHAs), according to a single-center study in Italy. Data show the treatment was effective in patients with abnormally low levels…
Diagnosis and treatment of cold agglutinin disease (CAD) secondary to a type of blood cancer was complicated by COVID-19 in a middle-aged man, a case study reports. The researchers identified specific mutations in immune cells that may explain the “treatment resistance and susceptibility to COVID-19,” they wrote in the…
Two approved blood cancer treatments, daratumumab and bortezomib, were each partially effective at reducing signs of cold agglutin disease (CAD) in two people with hard-to-treat cases of the autoimmune disorder, a study showed. These two therapies, alone or in combination, also were found to effectively treat five of six people with other…
A rituximab-based therapy regimen successfully treated a 16-year-old girl with primary cold agglutinin disease (CAD), according to researchers in the U.S. who say the case represents “the youngest patient reported with this diagnosis.” The case study, “An unusual case of primary cold agglutinin-associated lymphoproliferative disease…
Two infections complicated the case of a woman who had cold agglutinin disease (CAD) secondary to a rare autoimmune disorder called mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). The woman was treated for a tuberculosis (TB) lung infection, after which immunosuppressant therapies for CAD and MCTD triggered a second viral infection,…
Enjaymo (sutimlimab-jome) has been approved by the European Commission (EC) to treat anemia caused by the loss of red blood cells — called hemolytic anemia — in adults with cold agglutinin disease (CAD). The EC’s decision to approve the therapy, the first and only approved therapeutic option for…
An enterovirus infection triggered autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) — a condition in which the body’s immune system generates self-reactive antibodies that destroy red blood cells — in an 11-year-old boy, a case study has reported for the first time. Although some signs were consistent with a case of virus-induced…
The rare disease patient advocacy organization Global Genes, along with the Rare Disease Diversity Coalition (RDDC), has launched the next phase of its partnership to advance health equity for people with rare conditions, such as cold agglutinin disease (CAD). The initiative Know Your Family History is focusing on the…
Global Genes announced the winners of its RARE Champions of Hope awards, recognizing leaders and organizations for their work driving advocacy and innovation in rare diseases, such as cold agglutinin disease (CAD). As part of the 2022 RARE Disease Patient Advocacy Summit, held Sept. 12–14 in San Diego,…
A man with cold agglutinin disease (CAD) successfully underwent microvascular free tissue transfer — a tissue and blood vessel transplant — to repair extensive damage to his face, a case study reported. Authors noted that due to the lack of precedence in the literature, this report provides guidance on…
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