Hemophilia in the 21st century: tremendous progress, tremendous opportunity

Since antiquity, when a recognition of a familial, fatal bleeding disorder in males was first recorded [1], the world has been inhabited by individuals who lack adequate plasma activity of coagulation factor (F)VIII or FIX. It was not until 1803, however, that Dr Joseph Conrad Otto, a physician in the United States, published the first description of a case of a heritable bleeding condition transmitted through mothers to some of their sons [2]. Eventually, in additional to spontaneous and traumatic bleeding, the disorder was understood to be distinguished phenotypically by a singular and distinctive tendency for bleeding into joints leading to disabling arthritis [3], a phenomenon that still is incompletely understood [4,5].

Source: Seminars in Hematology - October 26, 2015 Category: Hematology Authors: Patrick F. Fogarty Tags: Advances in Hemophilia Source Type: research