Recent advances in the pathology of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder in which, for reasons that remain unclear, platelet surface proteins become antigenic and stimulate the immune system to produce autoantibodies and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. This results in immune-induced platelet destruction and suppression of platelet production.1-6 What causes the loss of tolerance to one’s own platelets remains unclear and is likely to be a result of a number of different co-operating factors including genetics (polymorphism in selected genes) and environment events (virusand bacteria-associated ITP).3 Both acute and chronic forms of disease can be distinguished. In children acute ITP is often associated with a viral or bacterial infection and generally resolves spontaneously within 6 weeks. Approximately 20% of children with acute ITP progress to the chronic form. In contrast ITP in adults is generally chronic and often requires treatment.1