X-linked Thrombocytopenia—Platelet Disorders

Also called: Thrombocyte disorders

Platelets are little pieces of blood cells. Platelets help wounds heal and prevent bleeding by forming blood clots. Your bone marrow makes platelets. Problems can result from having too few or too many platelets, or from platelets that do not work properly.

If your blood has a low number of platelets, it is called thrombocytopenia. This can put you at risk for mild to serious bleeding. If your blood has too many platelets, you may have a higher risk of blood clots. With other platelet disorders, the platelets do not work as they should. For example, in von Willebrand Disease, the platelets cannot stick together or cannot attach to blood vessel walls. This can cause excessive bleeding.

Treatment of platelet disorders depends on the cause.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

• Bleeding time (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Congenital platelet function defects (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Glanzmann disease (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Partial thromboplastin time (PTT) (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Platelet aggregation test (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Primary thrombocythemia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Purpura (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Thrombocytopenia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Thromobocytopenia – drug-induced (Medical Encyclopedia)

X-linked thrombocytopenia is a bleeding disorder that primarily affects males. This condition is characterized by a blood cell abnormality called thrombocytopenia, which is a shortage in the number of blood cell fragments involved in clotting (platelets). Affected individuals often have abnormally small platelets as well, a condition called microthrombocytopenia. X-linked thrombocytopenia can cause individuals to bruise easily or have episodes of prolonged bleeding following minor trauma or even in the absence of injury (spontaneous bleeding). Some people with this condition experience spontaneous bleeding in the brain (cerebral hemorrhage), which can cause brain damage that can be life-threatening.Some people with X-linked thrombocytopenia also have patches of red, irritated skin (eczema) or an increased susceptibility to infections. In severe cases, additional features can develop, such as cancer or autoimmune disorders, which occur when the immune system malfunctions and attacks the body’s own tissues and organs. It is unclear, however, if people with these features have X-linked thrombocytopenia or a more severe disorder with similar signs and symptoms called Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.Some people have a mild form of the disorder called intermittent thrombocytopenia. These individuals have normal platelet production at times with episodes of thrombocytopenia.