Myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of diseases where a person’s bone marrow fails to produce enough healthy blood cells, and instead produces immature blood cells called blasts.
Easy bruising or bleeding
Frequent infections
Pinhead-sized red spots on the skin (petechiae)
Fatigue
Paleness of skin
Shortness of breath
There are two main categories of MDS: lower-risk and higher-risk. The type of MDS an individual has is defined by the number of blasts that are in their bone marrow, which determines the severity. Blasts refer to abnormal immature white blood cells, and people with MDS have too many blasts in their bone marrow.
An individual is diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) when there are 20 or more blasts per 100 white blood cells in the bone marrow.
The following tests can be used to confirm a diagnosis of MDS:
Treatment and management options for MDS include:
MDS is a rare disease that requires more effective treatment options. To find these new treatments for MDS, further research is necessary.
There are about 350 MDS research studies that are actively recruiting participants. Visit ClinicalTrials.gov to find MDS research studies near you.
Artiva's AlloNK® Study for scleroderma aims to understand whether an investigational natural killer (NK) cell therapy can help reduce your scleroderma symptoms.
Artiva's AlloNK® Study for Sjögren’s aims to reduce inflammation and symptoms of Sjögren’s.
If you have Sjögren’s, you may be eligible for the Resolve Sjögren’s study, which is evaluating if a study drug may reduce fatigue, dryness in the eyes and mouth, and joint pain in women with Sjögren’s.
Find an online community of fellow patients, caregivers, and advocates below as
as well as some other general resources!
