Treatments For Hemophilia

Hemophilia A occurs in every one in four to five thousand men, making it the most common type. Type B affects about one in twenty thousand males. Women can experience this condition, but it is rarer. This disorder is characterized by improper blood clotting, causing severe bleeding after surgery or injury, as well as spontaneous bleeding. Patients either have a deficiency in either factor VIII or IX, two proteins that work as clotting factors. This is almost always an inherited disorder, so patients are usually born with it. A gene mutation causes the clotting factor to either be completely missing or to work improperly. In general, this condition is more severe the more deficient the causative clotting factor is.

Clotting Replacement Therapy

Hemophilia A patients are often prescribed clotting replacement therapy with a concentrated VIII medicine referred to as a clotting factor. DNA technology is used to produce these products in a lab. This therapy is given intravenously, and patients may have a port in their chest, or it can be given in a vein in the arm. For hemophilia B, concentrated IX medicine is used, which is also administered intravenously into a chest port or arm vein. Patients may receive this therapy on a regular basis to prevent the risk of severe bleeding, or it can be used on demand when they have a bleeding episode. It is possible for patients to develop certain antibodies that can attack the clotting factor they receive, something most often seen in hemophilia A. When this happens, this therapy cannot be administered, and patients will receive other treatments to control the disorder.

Clotting Medication

A clotting medication called desmopressin, a manmade substance created to mimic the vasopressin hormone, might be considered for mild hemophilia A, but not for those who have hemophilia B. This medication works to stimulate the release of von Willebrand factor and stored factor VIII. Von Willebrand factor is a protein that binds to factor VIII and other proteins. This is important for the process of platelet adhesion when wounds occur, as it helps stop bleeding. Doctors may prescribe either the nasal spray or injection form of this drug. It is generally only given to reduce bleeding and not frequently because regular use may make it less effective. For example, patients might use it before dental work to minimize bleeding.