Today is PURPLE for PLATELETS day!
photo by BruceBlaus.
Platelets are small cells in the blood stream that are critical for allowing our blood to clot and allowing tissue damage to heal. Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a disorder characterized by a person’s own immune system attacking their platelets, and causing the number of platelets to decrease dramatically. This usually results in mild symptoms, like easy bruising, but can cause devastating bleeding problems like bleeding in the brain, or bleeding extensively from the intestines.
It is most prevalent in children and usually goes away after 6 months with or without treatment, however, in adolescents and adults it can last for many years (Chronic ITP). Luckily, there are many new therapies up and coming for the treatment of chronic ITP so these individuals can go back to leading normal lives without worrying about bleeding.
For more information see:
medlineplus.gov
mayoclinic.org
danafarberbostonchildrens.org
In addition to ITP, this day is also used to increase awareness of other more rare hereditary platelet disorders such as Glanzmann’s Thrombasthenia  and Bernard-Soulier Syndrome  which also can result in severe bleeding complications.
So please SPORT PURPLE FOR PLATELETS –
#ITPaware
From PDSA.org,
As for research happenings related to the Department of Pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Dr. Yusung in Pediatric Gastroenterology, recently gave a talk on a potential project looking more deeply into the causes of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is being increasingly diagnosed worldwide and is now considered the most common cause of abnormal liver tests and chronic liver disease in the world. It is strongly associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high fat in the blood all conditions of which are increasing in incidence around the world.
In addition, on September 20, Dr. Reue from UCLA gave a very cool talk:
She has shown in animal models that just by having an extra X chromosome (females are XX, males are XY), an individual is more likely to suffer obesity and obesity related complications. This will likely change how we look at risk factors and therapies for the current obesity epidemic.
Chen, X., McClusky, R., Chen, J., Beaven, S. W., Tontonoz, P., Arnold, A. P., & Reue, K. (2012). The number of x chromosomes causes sex differences in adiposity in mice. PLoS Genetics, 8(5), e1002709-e1002709.