History of Hemophilia

Symptoms

Citations

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hemophilia/signs.html

http://www.hemophilia-information.com/history-of-hemophilia.html

Signs of external bleeding may include:

Bleeding in the mouth from a cut or bite or from cutting or losing a tooth

Nosebleeds for no obvious reason

Heavy bleeding from a minor cut

Bleeding from a cut that resumes after stopping for a short time

Signs of internal bleeding may include:

Blood in the urine (from bleeding in the kidneys or bladder)

Blood in the stool (from bleeding in the intestines or stomach)

Large bruises (from bleeding into the large muscles of the body)

The signs and symptoms of bleeding in the brain include:

Long-lasting, painful headaches or neck pain or stiffness

Repeated vomiting

Sleepiness or changes in behavior

Sudden weakness or clumsiness of the arms or legs or problems walking

Double vision

Convulsions or seizures

https://www.hemophilia.org/

http://www.hemophiliafed.org/bleeding-disorders/hemophilia/treatment/

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000538.htm

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2516/issues

Famous people who have it

Richard Burton

President Abraham Lincoln was rumored to have hemophilia as well.

Tsarevich Alexei, a Russian prince

Ryan Wayne White

History of Hemophilia

Hemophilia (Royal Disease)

Hemophilia was recognized, though not named, in ancient times. The

Talmud, a collection of Jewish Rabbinical writings from the 2nd century AD,

stated that male babies did not have to be circumcised if two brothers had

already died from the procedure.

In 1803, a Philadelphia physician named Dr. John Conrad Otto was the first

to “discover” the disease.

He traced the disease back through three generations to a woman who

had settled near Plymouth, New Hampshire, in 1720.

The word hemophilia first appears in a description of the condition

written by Hopff at the University of Zurich in 1828.

Treatment History of Hemophilia

Hemophilia is treated by injecting the missing factor protein into the affected person’s vein. The injection makes the factor immediately available in the bloodstream and the body is able to activate it to continue the clotting cascade and stop the bleeding.

Current research

Plasma-Derived Products

These are factor concentrates that are made from human blood. Blood contains plasma, which contains proteins, antibodies, albumin and clotting factors. Plasma- derived products are made with donated blood plasma that is carefully screened.

People with hemophilia A, the most common type, are missing clotting factor VIII. Institute researchers are exploring the possibility of treating the disorder with gene therapy. Their strategy is to engineer mesenchymal stem cells, a type of adult stem cell, so that they produce high levels of factor VIII. The cells – acting as a carrier for the gene – would then be transplanted into the patient.

Recombinant Factor Concentrates

These products are manufactured using hamster cells. Manufacturers inject hamster cells with the factor gene so that large amounts of the factor protein can be produced. Since the proteins are extracted from animal cells, they do not contain human viruses.

Agencies

• Hemophilia Community
• World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH)
• North American
• Canadian Hemophilia Society
• National Hemophilia Foundation (USA)
• New England Hemophilia Association
• Hemophilia Association of San Diego County
• Hemophilia Foundation of Illinois
• Hemophilia Alliance of Maine
• Hemophilia Federation of America
• Federation of Hemophilia of Mexico

Graph

Hemophilia is a disease that prevents

blood from clotting properly, so a

person who has it bleeds more than

someone without hemophilia does.

It's a genetic disorder, which means

it's the result of a change in genes that

was either inherited (passed on from

parent to child) or occurred during

development in the womb.