SEC S20W6 || White Blood Cells - Module 6

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Define White Blood Cells

White Blood Cells

White blood cells are also known as leukocytes, it is an important part of our immune system, which protects us from various diseases and infections and any foreign invaders. These are found in bone marrow as red blood cells play an important role in transporting oxygen in our body. Similarly, white blood cells help us detect various bacteria and viruses in our body and attack them to kill them.

Types of WBCs

These types are explained in question two.

  • Neutrophils
  • Lymphocytes
  • Monocytes
  • Eosinophils
  • Basophils

Functions of White Blood Cells:

White blood cells perform several important functions in our immune system, some of which are as follows.

  • White blood cells engulf and digest germs and harmful substances in our body.
  • B cells produce different types of antibodies that bind to foreign substances. And they mark for destruction in the body.
  • T cells and NK cells in the body directly attack things that have become cancerous and kill them.
  • A type of white blood cell eliminates allergens in the body and ensures that they target and eliminate pathogens without harming our healthy tissues.

Importance of WBCs:

White blood cell count is very important to maintain our good health. When the level of white blood cells decreases in our body, it makes our body more susceptible to infection. Because white blood cells fight infection. Similarly, if the number of vital cells in our body increases, inflammation can indicate conditions such as infection.

In short, white blood cell count is vital to our immune system, which works to defend the body against pathogens and maintain overall health. They fight and eliminate the harmful substances in our body and thus our body recovers from the infection.

Make a diagram of the white series

Neutrophils

Neutrophils are the most abundant cells in the blood and are the first to respond to bacterial infections because they are the most abundant. It engulfs and digests all harmful bacteria and dead cells. This is a process we call phagocytosis.

Lymphocytes

There are two types of lymphocytes, one is B cells and the other is T cells. The function of B cells is to produce antibodies that target specific pathogens in our body. Whereas T cells destroy infected cancer cells inside our body and help it to regenerate.

Monocytes

It is also a type of white blood cell in which these cells enter the tissues. When they enter the tissues, they become macrophages. And these macrophages take in and digest pathogens and dead cells. And at the same time, they play an important role in repairing our immune defenses.

Eosinophils

These types of white blood cells, known as eosinophils, are normally involved in fighting off biological infections. They produce enzymes that contribute to allergic reactions and mediate inflammation by combating the invader.

Basophils

This is a type of white blood cell that plays a key role in inflammation and allergic reactions. They release various chemicals during their reaction, including histamine, which can contribute to symptoms like swelling and itching.
Neutrofilia vs Neutropenia

Neutrophilia

Neutrophilia refers to having an abnormal number of neutrophils in our body.

Causes:

  • Our body increases the number of neutrophils to fight bacteria that protect us from infection.
  • Inflammatory bowel disease in our body can trigger our neutrophilia.
  • Exercising too much or going through a lot of trauma also increases the number of neutrophils in our body.
  • some medications can cause neutrophilia, such as corticosteroids.
  • Certain conditions in our body lead to excessive production of neutrophils, such as bone marrow disorders.

Symptoms:

Neutrophilia itself often causes some symptoms, but mainly we get a fever in this condition. We feel pain in the body and other such symptoms occur. And as our body gets infected or inflamed somewhere.

Diagnosis:

In this case, if we do a CBC test, we can detect the high level of this neutrophil. CBC means that it does a complete blood count and gives us a complete report. Yes, even apart from this we may have to do additional tests to find the underlying cause such as infection or inflammation.

Treatment:

We can use antibiotics for infection to get rid of this disease. And so for autoimmune disorders, we can treat ourselves by using anti-inflammatory drugs. This treatment focuses on managing the underlying cause.

Neutropenia

Neutropenia refers to an abnormally low number of neutrophils in our body, which makes our body susceptible to infection.

Causes:

  • These impair the ability of the bone marrow in our body to produce neutrophils.
  • Certain cancer treatments, including chemotherapy or radiation therapy, can suppress bone marrow function, leading to neutropenia.
  • many bacterial infections cause neutropenia.
  • The use of most antibiotics also depletes the neutrophil count, leading to neutropenia.
  • Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause neutropenia.

Symptoms:

It increases the susceptibility of our body to infections such as frequent infections, especially of the respiratory tract or skin. People with neutropenia often experience mild and low-grade fever as well as serious infections that require emergency treatment. It is also not neuter that people feel sores or sores on their body or in their mouth.

Diagnosis:

Neutropenia often occurs when the number of neutrophils in our body decreases. To know its level we have to do a CBC test. We may also need to do other tests, such as a bone marrow biopsy or specific blood tests for infection.

Treatment:

To treat it first we have to address the underlying cause and we have to treat the infection with antibiotics. Then manage autoimmune diseases by adjusting the medications that cause neutropenia appropriately so that they don't harm you further. In some serious cases such as bone marrow failure, we may even consider a patient transplant.

Explain a case related to the white series

AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia)

A 55-year-old man comes to us with fatigue presenting with symptoms of frequent infections and wounds. The first blood test we did was that his white blood cell count was elevated. In which white cells predominate, the white cell series specifically influences Myeloid, prompting further investigation.



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Symptoms:

  • A patient who comes to us reports that he feels extremely fatigued doing even the smallest activity, which has been increasing over the past few months.
  • The patient has been having respiratory infections for the past few weeks, even mild infections that take days to clear up.
  • The patient has light marks on the arms and legs from where the bleeding starts and takes a long time to stop.
  • The patient has recurrent fevers and is losing weight involuntarily.

Diagnostic Evaluation

CBC:
The normal range of white blood cells is 4,500 to 11,000 cells, but there are more than 50,000. A large percentage of white blood cells called blasts are seen in the blood smear. They have low platelet levels which show that their red blood cell count has decreased.

Bone Marrow Biopsy:
The bone marrow biopsies were also hypercellular with an increased cell population with large granulocytes, which we also call blasts, indicating that the patient had an excess of white blood cells.

Cytogenetic Analysis:
The aim of performing cytogenetic analyses was that the AML present in it would further help us to classify leukemia subtypes.

Diagnosis:

A patient is diagnosed with AML. AML is a symptom of cancer of the blood cells that originate in the bone marrow. AML is characterized by the speed and growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow. And usually interfere with the production of white blood cells.

Treatment:

Chemotherapy:
We will first start with chemotherapy to kill the cancer cells in the patient's bone marrow. A common treatment method is to add cytarabine and anthracycline to it. The goal is to reduce the number of blast cells in the blood and bone marrow that are increased by 20 percent.

Bone Marrow Transplant:
After chemotherapy, we can also consider a bone marrow transplant to replace the damaged part of the bone marrow with another healthy stem cell. These will prove to be very useful to keep us going for a long time.

Supportive Care:
We will use antibiotics to prevent the patient from having a weak immune system or any infection. We will administer blood transfusions to treat anemia and low platelet counts. In addition, we will give it a job to improve symptoms of fatigue and prevent frequent bleeding.

Outcome:

After the patient went through the process of chemotherapy, he got remission from us, it benefited us that his blast cells, which were more than 20 percent, were reduced to five percent. He is closely monitored for relapse and then receives a bone marrow transplant, which improves the long-term prognosis.

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Dated: 19-10-2024 About Me