The anisocromía is an erythrocyte abnormality defined as the lack of consistency and homogeneity in color occurs between about RBCs and others.
Red blood cells, also called red blood cells or erythrocytes, are a cellular component of the blood with a circular shape that is in charge of transporting oxygen to the different tissues that make up the body.
Erythrocytes
They are made up mainly of lipids, proteins, and a molecule called hemoglobin.
Anisochromia is an important indicator in hematology for the detection of diseases and health control of people.
Hemoglobin
To understand anisochromia, it is essential to talk about hemoglobin, which is a hemoprotein with an iron particle (Fe + 2) present in the erythrocytes of vertebrates.
Due to the valence of the iron molecule present in hemoglobin, an unstable bond is formed with oxygen (O2), which allows the particle to have enough "strength" to capture it, but weak enough to deliver it.
Hemoglobin is also responsible for giving erythrocytes their characteristic red color. When this hemoprotein is oxygenated, the color of the erythrocytes is intense red, while when it loses the oxygen molecule, it is dark red.
When speaking of anisochromia, one must not only think about the color that occurs in the erythrocytes, as this term is closely related to the thickness of the erythrocytes present in a sample. This is due to the change in the red cell density.
Normal red blood cell conditions
Normal erythrocytes have a diameter between 7 and 8 with slight variations, and their staining is dark pink in the periphery area and pale pink in the center. Its shape is circular and sometimes with slight irregularities.
It is important to have these reference conditions so as not to confuse one disease or condition with another.
This is why there are books and research for the classification of erythrocytes according to their shape, color and the diseases with which they may be related.
Causes and related diseases
Iron is a fundamental element in the synthesis of hemoglobin as a substrate for a combination of protoporphyrin to form the heme group.
Therefore, a low iron concentration results in low hemoglobin production. This translates into a considerably lower oxygen retention rate for the red blood cells, thus an overall lower oxygenation for the whole body.
This is why hypochromia (low color intensity) is directly related to the amount of iron present in the blood. When there are low levels of oxygen in the erythrocytes, their color changes considerably compared to normal ones.
Anisochromia usually occurs in cases of anemia, the beginning of treatment for deficiency anemia, in patients with hypochromic anemia who have been transfused or with people who have lost a lot of blood suddenly.
It should be noted that iron deficiency anemia is the largest nutritional problem worldwide and its impacts range from reduced work capacity in adults to decreased motor and mental development in children and adolescents.
Several organizations, such as The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSKT) and The US Food and nutrition board recommend having diets rich in iron, including taking nutritional supplements mainly for the population at risk of anemia (infants, women with menstruation and pregnant women).
These organizations have also published the RDA for the population at risk.
References
- Rosales López, BE, & Galicia Haro, R. (2010). Hematology practice manual Instituto Politécnico Nacional.
- Fernández Delgado, N. (2013). Polycythemia vera: more than a century after its discovery. (Spanish). Cuban Journal of Hematology, Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, 29 (4), 315-317.
- Hemoglobin. (2017). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from 0-academic.eb.com.millenium.itesm.mx
- Killip, S., Bennett, JM, & Chambers, MD (2007). Iron deficiency anemia. American family physician, 75.
- London, IM, Bruns, GP, & Karibian, D. (1964). THE REGULATION OF HEMOGLOBIN SYNTHESIS AND THE PATHOGENESIS OF SOME HYPOCHROMIC ANEMIAS. Medicine, 43 (6), 789-802.