Idiopathic Aplastic Anemia Treated with Methyltestosterone and Fresh Platelets

IDIOPATHIC aplastic anemia is a commonly fatal disease which is characterized by aplasia or hypoplasia of bone marrow and resultant pancytopenia in the peripheral blood. Usually death is caused by thrombocytopenic bleeding or infection, although in some instances acute leukemia may ensue. In children, aplastic anemia may be produced by certain drugs, toxins, and metals, or may be associated with multiple congenital anomalies, but many cases are of unknown etiology and are classified as "idiopathic." Cortisone and its analogues may be useful in controlling bleeding in this dyscrasia, but these agents have no effect on the basic disease and their hemostatic effects are temporary.1In the past few years, transfusions of fresh blood and platelet concentrates have been used to control bleeding and antibiotics to control infection, but remissions have been rare and few lives have been spared by these measures. Recently, Shahidi and Diamond2have induced marrow