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There are two types of Hemophilia, A and B. Both are caused by deficiencies in the amount of clotting factor in the blood (VIII or IX). When the blood does not have enough of one of these or is missing one clotting factor, the bleeding may end very slowly or may not stop at all. The two types of Hemophilia are linked together by their similar clinical pictures and their similar inheritance patterns.

The most dangerous part about having Hemophilia is internal bleeding. If internal bleeding is left untreated it can lead to deformity, disability or even death. In a Hemophiliac the bleeding continues until either it clots long enough for it to heal or the person will bleed to death.

The earliest references to hemophilia can be found in second century Jewish writings.

The first attempts to treat hemophilia was by replacing the clotting factory with blood plasma taken from pigs and cows.

In the 1970s scientists found two approaches to the disease

One that was called prophylaxis required injecting doses of the clotting factor on a regular basis

The second was to inject the factor whenever the bleeding occurred

Hemophilia is a genetic disease and is passed on by the X chromosome (the chromosome that carries the clotting factor).

If a boy gets the X chromosome that carries the hemophilia gene he will become a hemophiliac.

If a girl get the gene, she will become the carrier of the gene, not showing symptoms of the disease though she may have a long or heavy menstrual cycle. The carrier has a 50% chance of passing the gene on to her children every time she gets pregnant.