Idiopathic refractory sideroblastic anemia: incidence and risk factors for leukemic transformation.

The clinical course of 29 patients with idiopathic refractory sideroblastic anemia studied by us was reviewed. Four patients developed acute leukemia. We were able to find 27 out of 268 cases of idiopathic refractory sideroblastic anemia reported in the literature which terminated in acute leukemia.

Folate-induced remission in aplastic anemia with familial defect of cellular folate uptake.

Severe aplastic anemia developed in a young man with an extensive family history of leukemia, pancytopenia, and neutropenia. Megaloblastic changes became evident, and treatment with high doses of folic acid resulted in striking clinical improvement. However, red-cell folate levels remained persistently low despite high serum folate levels.