Biermer's anemia

Biermer's anemia
A blood disorder caused by a lack of vitamin B12. Patients who have this disorder do not produce the substance in the stomach that allows the body to absorb vitamin B12. This substance is called intrinsic factor (IF). Biermer's anemia, better known as pernicious anemia (PA), is characterized by the presence in the blood of large, immature, nucleated cells (megaloblasts) that are forerunners of red blood cells. (Red blood cells, when mature, have no nucleus). It is thus a type of megaloblastic anemia. Pernicious anemia (PA) was first described (although not by that name) in 1855 by the English physician Thomas Addison. He called it an invariably fatal “idiopathic anemia.” The “idiopathic” was a frank admission that the cause of this illness was wholly unknown. The name “pernicious anemia” was coined in 1872 by the German physician Anton Biermer whose description of the disease was superior to that of Addison. The studies of George H. Whipple on the effects of feeding liver in anemia followed by those of George R. Minot and Wm. P. Murphy on the effects of feeding liver specifically in pernicious anemia (PA) led to the cure of PA and to their receiving the Nobel Prize in 1934. Nowadays PA is an unpernicious anemia. It is simply treated with vitamin B12. The vitamin B12 has to be administered by injection (parenterally) because people with PA do not have IF (or an effective form of IF) and so cannot absorb vitamin B12 taken by mouth. There is some evidence that PA may be genetic although its mode of inheritance is poorly documented. There is a congenital form of PA due to defect of IF that is clearly inherited as an autosomal recessive trait with the affected child having received two copies of the gene, one from each parent. The IF gene itself has been localized to human chromosome 11. The word "pernicious" means highly injurious, destructive, or deadly. "Pernicious" comes from the Latin root "nex" meaning "violent death." Pernicious anemia was once quite deadly. Today it fortunately is not.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • biermer's anemia — ˈbirmərz noun also biermer s disease Usage: usually capitalized B Etymology: after Anton Biermer died 1892 German physician : pernicious anemia …   Useful english dictionary

  • Anemia, Biermer's — A blood disorder caused by a lack of vitamin B12. Patients who have this disorder do not produce the substance in the stomach that allows the body to absorb vitamin B12. This substance is called intrinsic factor (IF). Biermer s anemia, better… …   Medical dictionary

  • biermer's disease — noun see biermer s anemia …   Useful english dictionary

  • Biermer, anemia de — gastrol. Anemia perniciosa. Medical Dictionary. 2011 …   Diccionario médico

  • anemia de Biermer — Biermer, anemia de gastrol. Anemia perniciosa. Medical Dictionary. 2011 …   Diccionario médico

  • anemia de ADDISON-BIERMER — término utilizado en el pasado para la Anemia perniciosa o megaloblástica, secundaria a una déficit de vitamina B1 Diccionario ilustrado de Términos Médicos.. Alvaro Galiano. 2010 …   Diccionario médico

  • anemia perniciosa — f. hemat. Anemia con presencia de megaloblastos que se produce por una carencia de vitamina B12. La anemia suele ir acompañada de trastornos digestivos y nerviosos. También se denomina enfermedad de Addison Biermer. Medical Dictionary. 2011 …   Diccionario médico

  • BIERMER Antón — (1827 1892) (retrato) [véase http://www.iqb.es/diccio/b/bi.htm#biermer]: Médico alemán conocido por sus estudios sobre la anemia y por la enfermedad que lleva su nombre Diccionario ilustrado de Términos Médicos.. Alvaro Galiano. 2010 …   Diccionario médico

  • anemia de LEBERT — término también empleado para la anemia de ADDISON BIERMER Diccionario ilustrado de Términos Médicos.. Alvaro Galiano. 2010 …   Diccionario médico

  • Anemia — The condition of having less than the normal number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. The oxygen carrying capacity of the blood is, therefore, decreased. Persons with anemia may feel tired and fatigue …   Medical dictionary

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