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are these the same as spur cells? spur cells are associated with liver failure i believe.

According to Kaplan's Flashcards for the 200 Diagnostic Tests You Need To Know for Step 2 & 3 by Dr. Conrad Fischer:

Spur cells, or acanthocytes, have fewer spicules than Burr cells. Acanthocytes are associated with liver disease and some forms of hereditary spherocytosis and myelodisplasia; while Burr cells, are present in end-stage renal disease and liver disease. It seems that they are different.--Yogagye (talk) 03:26, 17 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, they differ in several ways. Will work on a template tabulation of differences, and eventually toward a separation of article content into two. FeatherPluma (talk) 23:31, 13 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I believe echinocytes (burr cells) can also be caused by mechanical trauma or shear stress (e.g. mechanical heart valves). Icehcky8 (talk) 00:53, 23 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

This line is gibberish, and so I have removed it: "Recent research into the subcategory of alexocytes has focused on the iron retention capabilities and radioactive half-life of uranium-infused echinocytes. Some hemophiliacs encounter frequent therapy episodes later." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.72.183.49 (talk) 11:31, 2 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

How about an explanation as to !why! acanthocytes form, such as liver disease. This page would be a lot more helpful. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.213.25.30 (talk) 03:27, 14 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That's made pretty clear in the second and third paragraphs of the Pathophysiology section. Not Wikipedia's fault if you don't have a background in science and can't connect the dots. I'll help you out though: the liver is necessary to make apolipoproteins; thus, if you have liver disease, you won't be able to make them. Lipoproteins are necessary for cholesterol metabolism and clearance. If you have a deficiency or defect in apolipoproteins, you'll have excess cholesterol in your plasma, and thus it can get into the RBC membrane and distort it. (If someone wants to pretty this up and add it into the article, AND make sure to distinguish apolipoproteins from lipoproteins, which I did NOT do a good job of, feel free) Icehcky8 (talk) 04:11, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Given that burr and spur cells are frequently confused, it seems a poor choice to have echinocytes refer to this page - I fell like they should have their own page — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.252.93.152 (talk) 19:54, 20 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]