Why does immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) sometimes persist despite initial treatment with corticosteroids?

💡 Explanation

ITP persistence can occur because long-lived plasma cells in the bone marrow, responsible for producing anti-platelet autoantibodies, can develop resistance to corticosteroid-induced apoptosis; therefore, antibody production continues despite treatment, rather than corticosteroids directly promoting platelet aggregation or autoantibody production simply becoming independent.

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