Leukemia is a disease that is considered to be life-threatening. It requires prompt intervention when discovered, in order to maximize the chances of recovering through specific treatment and therapy. Leukemia is basically a type of cancer of the bone marrow and blood, caused by inappropriate cellular activity. The disease can be of different forms, according to the types of blood cells that cause its development. Also, if leukemia is developing rapidly, it is called acute leukemia, while if the disease is developing slowly, it is referred to as chronic leukemia.

Leukemia is generally considered and known as blood cancer, where as if considered in its real terms leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells and the platelets. These platelets actually help blood to clot.

Chronic leukemia also causes serious impairments at cellular level, triggering an overproduction of abnormal cells. However, unlike acute leukemia, chronic forms of the disease allow the affected cells to reach more advanced stages of development. Thus, chronic leukemia has a slower rate of progression.

Additionally when the white blood cells reduce in amount they actually leave the immune system unlocked for attack and the patient sometimes die of a very usual illness like flu. In general the deficiency of normal white cells impairs the body's ability to struggle against infections. A shortage of platelets results in bruising and easy bleeding whenever there is a need of clot to stop the flow of blood.

Leukemia in commonly defined as cancer of white blood cells, in which bone marrow excessively produces immature abnormal white blood cells which fills up the bone marrow spaces and ultimately spills into the peripheral blood, thereby spreading to different parts of the body.

Leukemia is divided into four categories: myelogenous or lymphocytic, each of which can be acute or chronic. AML is more common in men than in women. Acute myelogenous leukemia is the most common form of leukemia. The difference is even more apparent in older patients. Leukemia is one of the top 15 most frequently occuring cancers in minority groups. Leukemia incidence is highest among whites and lowest among American Indians and Alaskan natives.

Lymphocytic and myelogenous types of leukemia are developed from different types of cells: the lymphocytic type of leukemia develops from cells called lymphoblasts or lymphocytes in the spongious tissue of the bones, while the myelogenous type of leukemia (sometimes refered to as myeloid and myelocytic leukemia) develops from myeloid cells. Judging by the types of cells involved in the development of leukemia and by the rate of cellular division specific to each form of the disease, the main types of leukemia are: acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Signs and Symptoms
Signs of acute leukemia may include; high fever, abnormal bleeding, easy bruising and prolonged menses. Sometimes the onset of symptoms is more gradual with low grade fever, weakness, chills, recurrent infections or lassitude, lasting for days or months before visual symptoms occur.

There are two main types of Leukemia, the Acute and the Chronic. When the immature blood gets weight age in the body and it is increased more than the mature blood, it gets converted into Leukemia. In this type an immediate treatment is must as if the blood gets circulated in majority of the parts of body, it becomes difficult to handle the situation and that results into the blocking of bone marrow to produce healthy blood cells. So, the curing should be deadly faster. Also the lymphocytes Leukemia and myelogenous Leukemia are also the other types of this disease.

Treatment
Medically leukemia is treated mainly with chemotherapy, although radiotherapy and biological therapy can be used in certain subtypes of leukemia.

The nutrients found in garlic can protect our body from infections. Since chemotherapy can lower your immune system, Garlic can aid that problem.

You can also concoct an herbal tea out of stinging nettle, elder blossoms, brooklime herb and dandelion to help your body gain back its strength and normalize its primary functions.

Signs of acute leukemia may include; high fever, abnormal bleeding, easy bruising and prolonged menses. Sometimes the onset of symptoms is more gradual with low grade fever, weakness, chills, recurrent infections or lassitude, lasting for days or months before visual symptoms occur.

Leukemia that has spread to the brain may produce central nervous system effects, such as headaches, seizures, weakness, blurred vision, balance difficulties, or vomiting. Leukemia cells may spread to the gums, causing swelling, pain, and bleeding.

The treatment is difficult yet not impossible as some of the medication treatment are required to get cured and beside this there are also the radiation therapy and bone marrow transplantation are the treatments of this diseases. But still nothing gives guarantee as the diagnosis has no outer symptoms and the stage in which the diseases are approached is also important.

Leukemia interferes with the body's production of white blood cells. These cells are supposed to fight infections with viruses or bacteria, and when someone has leukemia, they are defective and their number is largely increased, but because they are not fulfilling their role any more, although their number can increase ten times the body's defense system is seriously weakened and any infection can be very dangerous.

Treatment of promyelocytic leukemia is different from that for all other forms of AML. Majority patients are now treated with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA). ATRA is a form of "differentiation therapy." It activates the retinoid receptor RAR and causes the promyeloctes to mature and this deters them from proliferating.






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