NAIT-FAIT - Main

Bleeding occurring in the child's brain (intra-cranial haemorrhaging: ICH) or elsewhere in the child's body, either before or after birth, caused by the mother producing antibodies against her child's platelets.

The immunological incompatibility between the mother-to-be and the platelets of her unborn child (the foetus) is called "foetal alloimmune thrombocytopenia" (FAIT) and that between a mother and her newly-born child (neonate) is called "neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia" (NAIT).

Platelets or "thrombocytes" are necessary to control bleeding. When there are too few thrombocytes in the blood, this is called "thrombocytopenia". When this occurs, bleeding can occur in the child. The thrombocytopenia in children with NAIT and FAIT is caused by the mother producing antibodies against her child's thrombocytes. The mother produces antibodies which "clash" with the child's thrombocytes during pregnancy; these antibodies are transported via the mother's blood into the child's blood system, where they destroy the child's thrombocytes. The prefix "allo" in alloimmune indicates that an individual (here: mother or mother-to-be) reacts immunologically against certain features of another individual (here: foetus or neonate).

FAIT and NAIT occur more frequently per 1000 births than any other disease in newborn children for which screening programmes exist. Nevertheless, both FAIT and NAIT often remain undiagnosed. Our main aim is to rectify this situation. The bleeding caused by these diseases can have dramatic effects and can result in brain damage, particularly when intra-cranial bleeding is involved, and even in the death of the child. Most of these cases of bleeding can be prevented when specialists are consulted in time. These specialists are usually to be found in teaching hospitals working in the gynaecology and obstetrics units, the paediatric units as well as in the blood banks. NAIT can last anywhere between a few days and more than 3 months (although the latter is unusual). Bleeding can occur at any time during thrombocytopenia. That is why it is imperative to infuse the children immediately with platelets from healthy donors or with platelets from the mother. The maternal antibodies in the child's blood have been broken down after around 3 months. Once this happens they are no longer a danger to the child's thrombocytes; if the child has been treated correctly then s/he will suffer no ill effects or relapses. However, the disease can recur during any future pregnancy, and the foetus or neonate can be afflicted just as badly as its older sibling, or possibly even worse.

For this reason it is crucial that a specialist (as mentioned above) from a local teaching hospital be consulted whenever NAIT or FAIT is suspected. It is also advisable to print out this page and the related information on NAIT/FAIT and to show these to the attending physician.

Alternatively you can download all texts as a file (here in English, for the other languages see the columns to the right)

Dr. med. Jürgen Neppert, Hamburg
Dr. med. Esther v. Witzleben-Schürholz, Bad Bramstedt

mailto:webmaster@nait-fait.info

Disclaimer: Information on this site is provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication.

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Home Deutsch Nait Fait Bilder Film D.diagnose Impressum Kontakt English Nait Fait Images Film D.diagnosis Contact Türkçe Nait Fait Resimler Film Ayırıcı Tanı İrtibat TriadSkin powered by PmWiki	Main Start Bleeding occurring in the child's brain (intra-cranial haemorrhaging: ICH) or elsewhere in the child's body, either before or after birth, caused by the mother producing antibodies against her child's platelets. The immunological incompatibility between the mother-to-be and the platelets of her unborn child (the foetus) is called "foetal alloimmune thrombocytopenia" (FAIT) and that between a mother and her newly-born child (neonate) is called "neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia" (NAIT). Platelets or "thrombocytes" are necessary to control bleeding. When there are too few thrombocytes in the blood, this is called "thrombocytopenia". When this occurs, bleeding can occur in the child. The thrombocytopenia in children with NAIT and FAIT is caused by the mother producing antibodies against her child's thrombocytes. The mother produces antibodies which "clash" with the child's thrombocytes during pregnancy; these antibodies are transported via the mother's blood into the child's blood system, where they destroy the child's thrombocytes. The prefix "allo" in alloimmune indicates that an individual (here: mother or mother-to-be) reacts immunologically against certain features of another individual (here: foetus or neonate). FAIT and NAIT occur more frequently per 1000 births than any other disease in newborn children for which screening programmes exist. Nevertheless, both FAIT and NAIT often remain undiagnosed. Our main aim is to rectify this situation. The bleeding caused by these diseases can have dramatic effects and can result in brain damage, particularly when intra-cranial bleeding is involved, and even in the death of the child. Most of these cases of bleeding can be prevented when specialists are consulted in time. These specialists are usually to be found in teaching hospitals working in the gynaecology and obstetrics units, the paediatric units as well as in the blood banks. NAIT can last anywhere between a few days and more than 3 months (although the latter is unusual). Bleeding can occur at any time during thrombocytopenia. That is why it is imperative to infuse the children immediately with platelets from healthy donors or with platelets from the mother. The maternal antibodies in the child's blood have been broken down after around 3 months. Once this happens they are no longer a danger to the child's thrombocytes; if the child has been treated correctly then s/he will suffer no ill effects or relapses. However, the disease can recur during any future pregnancy, and the foetus or neonate can be afflicted just as badly as its older sibling, or possibly even worse. For this reason it is crucial that a specialist (as mentioned above) from a local teaching hospital be consulted whenever NAIT or FAIT is suspected. It is also advisable to print out this page and the related information on NAIT/FAIT and to show these to the attending physician. Alternatively you can download all texts as a file (here in English, for the other languages see the columns to the right) Dr. med. Jürgen Neppert, Hamburg Dr. med. Esther v. Witzleben-Schürholz, Bad Bramstedt mailto:webmaster@nait-fait.info Disclaimer: Information on this site is provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication.