Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2025
An In vitro System to Gauge the Thrombolytic Efficacy of Histotripsy and a Lytic Drug
Published on: June 4, 2021
The history of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura research: a narrative review
Konstantine Halkidis1, Bernhard Lämmle2,3, X Long Zheng4
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.
Background And Objective:
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare but debilitating thrombotic microangiopathy that results from severe deficiency of the enzyme ADAMTS13. The disorder was first described in the early 20th century, but the pathophysiology of the disease has only been elucidated in the past three decades. In this narrative review, we will summarize the milestone moments in the history of TTP research and discovery.
Methods:
We searched literature using PubMed from 1924 to 2023 using the following free text searches: "thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura", "Moschcowitz disease", and "thrombotic microangiopathy". We found 6,917 peer-reviewed articles and sorted through these for relevant literature pertinent to the review. A total of 46 articles were included for review and the remainder were excluded.
Key Content And Findings:
The history of TTP research was reviewed, with a sampling of major events in the evolution of the understanding of the pathophysiology and treatment of the disease discussed here. There remains much to be learned about the nature of the disease in order to develop more specific and less harmful treatments.
Conclusions:
An overview of the major discoveries that have led to our current understanding of TTP reveals the results of collaboration of multiple groups of physicians and scientists through the past century, with additional breakthroughs likely to occur in the future because of that same collaborative spirit.
