A 12-year-old Canadian boy was diagnosed with a rare disorder where his tongue turning yellow in colour. As per the reports published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the boy was diagnosed with ‘cold agglutinin’ disease, a rare autoimmune disorder which attacks the immune system especially the red blood cells. The boy was taken into hospital with complaints of sore throat, dark urine, abdominal pain and pale skin.
Initially, the doctors of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto thought that the condition was jaundice, which can lead to yellowing of skin. However, they were perplexed about the bright yellow tint on his tongue. After running a few tests, the health experts identified that the boy had anaemia and was infected with ‘Epstein-Barr’ virus. Epstein Barr virus is a virus that has been linked with a number of autoimmune conditions.
According to the National Institute of Health, the cold agglutinin disease is a rare type of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys its own red blood cells.
After blood transfusions and oral steroids for seven weeks to reduce immune system activity, the boy’s tongue has now regained its normal colour.
Cold agglutin disease affects blood when people are exposed to low temperatures (32º to 50º F). Under this condition, certain proteins that normally attack bacteria attach themselves to red blood cells and bind them together into clumps. This will eventually destroy the red blood cells and lead to anaemia and other associated symptoms.
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