Experts discuss new developments in the treatment of primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in Madrid

-La PTI is an autoimmune disease that causes severe bleeding and limits the quality of life of one in four people who suffer from

-the appearance of trombopoyéticos drugs has radically changed the treatment of disease by stimulating the production of platelets

– each year approximately 100 new cases are detected of the disease for each million inhabitants

– in adulthood manifests itself most frequently between 18 and 40 years of age, being three times more common among women

-La Jornada has benefited from the intervention of doctor James Bussell, one of the most important researchers worldwide in PTI, which has participated in the development of the latest approved molecules and in the planning of the lines of research in hematology in United States

Madrid, may 2012.- La PTI is an autoimmune disease characterized by the decline in platelets that causes that, in the worst cases, patients have bleeding and see limited its normal activity. According to Dr. Víctor Jiménez Yuste, head of section of the haemostasis unit at the Hospital Universitario La Paz, it is estimated that there are about 5,000 cases in Spain.

The meeting took place in Madrid new perspectives in the management of chronic ITP ”, co-ordinated by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and with the scientific endorsement of the Sociedad Española de Hematología y Hemoterapia (AEHH), which discussed major advances in their management in the last year.

The day has counted with the participation of Dr. James Bussell, director of the Centre for the Plaquetarias diseases, the Foundation on cancer and paediatric blood diseases of the Presbyterian Hospital in New York and the Weill Cornell Medical College; It’s one of the most important researchers worldwide in PTI, which has participated in the development of the latest approved molecules and in the planning of the lines of research in hematology in United States along with the health authorities. Also during the meeting have been discussed the management of the value of new technologies in time of crisis and how this can affect the patient care.

According to Dr. Miguel Ángel Sanz, head of the Haematology service of the Hospital Universitari i Politecnic La Fe of Valencia and a member of the AEHH, the novelty that has radically changed the treatment of the PTI is the incorporation of drugs trombopoyéticos, designed to exercise a function similar to the trombopoyetina, which stimulates the production of platelets ”.

One of these trombopoyéticos agents is eltrombopag, GSK, which compensates for the destruction of platelets induced disease in approximately 80% of patients who had not previously responded to other therapies.

Eltrombopag, in addition to promoting the recovery of the number of platelets is administered by mouth, which facilitates treatment and allows an easier adjustment for patients and doctors, according to Dr. Sanz, whose main advantage is that work in a high proportion of patients refractory to conventional treatments, with a high-profile security and reduced toxicity ”.

The PTI, a disease relatively frequent

The knowledge of the mechanisms of the PTI is experiencing significant changes in recent years. In addition to the traditional idea of the existence of further destruction of platelets, today we know that there is also a lower production of them (a defect of the thrombopoeisis).

Doctor Sanz notes that this is a relatively common disease – approximately 100 new cases of PTI are detected for every million people each year. On the other hand, this disease often is characterized by not presenting clinical symptoms: out of 100 cases per year, only a quarter of patients has a certain gravity, the rest remains at acceptable levels. The effect on the quality of life of that percentage is given because they suffer bleeding and have to frequently visit the hospital ”.