Study Provides Insights Into Diagnosis, Treatment of Rare Immune Disease

Study Provides Insights Into Diagnosis, Treatment of Rare Immune Disease

Leading Research to Understand, Treat, and Prevent Infectious, Immunologic, and Allergic Diseases           Visit us on the Web NIH Study Provides Insights Into Diagnosis, Treatment of ALPS A team led by researchers from NIAID’s Laboratory of Immunology has analyzed results from 20 years of research on people with the most common form of autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS). Their report, published online inBlood on January 7, describes an easy-to-measure biomarker for diagnosing this rare immune disease, identifies the major causes of death among ALPS patients, and suggests strategies to improve disease treatment and management. ALPS, first described by NIH scientists in the mid-1990s, is a rare inherited disorder in which unusually high numbers of white blood cells accumulate in the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen, causing these organs to enlarge. ALPS can cause anemia and reduce the number of pathogen-fighting neutrophils and clot-forming platelets in the blood. Read more about the study.