Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

The cause of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is unknown. It is not thought to be genetic because it is rare for multiple people in the same family to develop this disease. Only a few cases of familial ITP have been documented, including an affected woman and 3 of her 4 children, identical twins with chronic ITP, and a mother with chronic ITP who had a child with purpura. The child's purpura resolved on its own within 3 weeks while the mother remained thrombocytopenic.

While Evans syndrome is not thought to be inherited in most cases and rarely occurs in more than one person in a family, there are a few cases in the medical literature describing "familial Evans syndrome." The majority of familial cases involve siblings that are found to have Evans syndrome. Some of these cases were additionally associated with other symptoms, such as heart defects as well as other disorders that are known to be inherited, such as hereditary spastic paraplegia.

If there is a family history of Evans syndrome, we would recommend consulting with a genetics professional to discuss risks for family members.

A review of available literature does not yield any information or case reports regarding Evans syndrome and infertility. Furthermore, infertility is not mentioned as being a sign or symptom of Evans syndrome in various resources.

Evans syndrome appears to be rare in pregnancy with only a few published cases. Because some of the medications used to treat Evan's syndrome may be harmful to a developing baby, treatment options in pregnancy can be limited. However, women with Evans syndrome can have successful pregnancies.