What is Franklin's disease?

Franklin diseases, also known as a disease of the heavy chain of gamma, is a prerequisite in which the body siblings certain proteins that usually play an important role in the immune system. As a result of too much of this type of protein, people with this condition can experience symptoms such as fatigue, enlargement of lymph nodes and susceptibility to infections. The diagnosis of Franklin's disease relies on the identification of high concentrations of heavy chains of gamma in the blood. Chemotherapy usually offers the best treatment option for this condition. Patients with this disease produce a large number of heavy chains that are part of immunoglobulins - proteins that recognize and attach to foreign substances in the body, alert other components of the immune system and allow the removal of this dangerous material. The disease is referred to as a disease of the heavy chain of gamma because it involves overproduction of gamma diversity of heavy chains.

Symptoms of Franklin's disease include fever, fatigue, weakness, enlargement of lymph nodes, increased liver and spleen size and reduce the number of red blood cells. One of the most characteristic symptoms of the disease is swelling in the back of the mouth, in the floor and almonds. This swelling occurs due to the proliferation of lymphatic tissue, which usually occurs in this area of ​​the body. If this swelling progresses, it can be difficult to breathe. Patients with this condition usually have an increased risk of infection because their immune systems do not work properly.

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diagnosis of Franklin's disease usually relies on performing a number of different laboratory tests. Patients often have a low number of red blood cells, low blood platelet concentrations and a high number of eosinospils in the blood that are a specific type of white blood cells. However, these findings are non -specific, so the actual diagnosis of Franklin's disease must be confirmed by a test called protein electrophoresisfor blood and urine samples obtained from patients. This test is able to separate proteins found in these fluid samples according to their size. If the disease is present, it shows an increased concentration of the proteins of a heavy gamma chain.

The treatment of Franklin's disease usually relies on the chemotherapy of the affected patients. These treatments can help reduce the production of heavy chains gamma that causes many manifestations of the disease. Chemotherapeutic regimens that are commonly used to treat lymphoma can be used to treat Franklin's disease. Rituximab, another type of chemotherapeutic agent, was also successfully used to treat the disease. Unfortunately, a prognosis for patients with a condition is usually poor and many die within five years after diagnosis.