Immune thrombocytopenic purpura: historical perspective, current status, recent advances and future directions

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) has witnessed many changes and updates over the past decade. The definitions of disease subtypes, course and response to treatment have all been standardized recently. Consequent to the lack of an international consensus management guideline, wide variations exist in treatment practice. This is now being addressed to an extent by the much awaited ITP International Working Group 2010 recommendations. The pathophysiologic mechanisms have been unfolded at cellular, molecular and humoral levels. As a result, many recent advances have taken place in the management of this disorder. This review revisits the history of evolution of ITP, summarizes the current recommendations for management and lists the recent advances and future prospects in this field.