Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)

Children’s Hospital Boston is a world leader in ITP research, and we are currently conducting a number of studies in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment of ITP and other platelet disorders.

• Rituximab
  We are conducting a clinical trial to determine the safety of the medication rituximab and how well it works in children and adolescents with chronic, severe ITP.

• North American ITP registry
  Our Platelet Function Disorders Program has formed a North American database to help understand the long-term outcomes of children and adolescents with ITP. Once this information is analyzed, it may lead to a better understanding of chronic ITP in North America and improve the way specialists care for their young patients with this chronic disease.

• International splenectomy registry
  Researchers are collecting information, internationally, regarding splenectomy in young persons with ITP. This study may lead to the better understanding of the effects of splenectomy on children and young adults with ITP.

• Intercontinental childhood ITP registry
  We participate in a large international study to help better define the long-term course in children newly diagnosed with ITP. Once this information is carefully analyzed, it may lead to the development of new treatment guidelines that will improve the care of children with ITP.

• Study of treatment side effects
  We are also participating in multi-center studies to evaluate the side effects of the various treatments of ITP.

Visit Children’s research page for more information on our current studies.

Alan Michelson, MD, is the foremost expert in the field of platelets and platelet disorders. He is the editor of Platelets, the premier academic text on these conditions, as well as the director of the Center for Platelet Research Studies, one of the world’s most active research programs in platelet disorders.

Ellis Neufeld, MD, PhD, is a leading expert in ITP and thalassemia. He is an experienced pediatric hematologist and an associate chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology. He is also the director of the Thalassemia Program and a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. He is chair of the medical advisory board of the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation, and an expert in assessment and treatment of transfusional iron overload.