Cryoglobulinemia

Cryoglobulinemia
Other names	Cryoglobulinaemia, cryoglobulinemic disease
Specialty	Hematology

Cryoglobulinemia is a medical condition in which the blood contains large amounts of pathological cold sensitive antibodies called cryoglobulins – proteins (mostly immunoglobulins themselves) that become insoluble at reduced temperatures.^[1] This should be contrasted with cold agglutinins, which cause agglutination of red blood cells.

Cryoglobulins typically precipitate (clump together) at temperatures below normal body temperature – 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) – and will dissolve again if the blood is heated. The precipitated clump can block blood vessels and cause toes and fingers to become gangrenous. While this disease is commonly referred to as cryoglobulinemia in the medical literature, it is better termed cryoglobulinemic disease for two reasons: 1) cryoglobulinemia is also used to indicate the circulation of (usually low levels of) cryoglobulins in the absence of any symptoms or disease and 2) healthy individuals can develop transient asymptomatic cryoglobulinemia following certain infections.^[2]

In contrast to these benign instances of circulating cryoglobulins, cryoglobulinemic disease involves the signs and symptoms of precipitating cryoglobulins and is commonly associated with various pre-malignant, malignant, infectious, or autoimmune diseases that are the underlying cause for production of the cryoglobulins.^[2][3]