Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in two elderly siblings

To our knowledge, only six families with familial idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) have been described in the literature. We encountered two elderly siblings with ITP, which normally occurs only in younger persons. It has been clearly demonstrated that ITP is an autoimmune disorder, and there is some evidence that it reflects an inherited immunodeficiency.