In 1977 WHO published in the Bulletin a Memorandum on Methods for the Detection of Haemophilia Carriers. This was produced following a WHO/WFH (World Federation of Haemophilia) Meeting of Investigators in Geneva in November 1976, and has served as a valuable reference article on the genetics of haemophilia. The analyses discussed were based on phenotypic assessment, which, at that time, was the...

Haemophilia B is an X-linked recessive bleeding disorder, arising from a deficiency of coagulation factor IX. It has been a target for gene therapy ever since the factor IX gene was cloned in 1982. Several distinct approaches have been evaluated in humans over the last 30 years, but none has resulted in tangible corrections of the bleeding phenotype in humans until recently. Our group has now s...

TAFI (thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor) down regulates fibrinolysis after activation by relatively high concentrations of thrombin generated during coagulation via thrombin mediated factor XI activation and subsequent activation of the intrinsic pathway. It is this secondary burst of thrombin that is severely diminished in haemophilia A, a deficiency of coagulation factor VIII. We th...

Haemophilia is the only recognized haemorrhagic diathesis which is inherited as a sex linked recessive character. It is a disease of males which is transmitted through apparently unaffected females. The classical case can be recognized with certainty since the laboratory manifestations are specific. The association of a prolonged coagulation time with a normal bleeding time and platelet count, ...

Current screening methods for factor VIII gene (F8) mutations can reveal the causative alteration in the vast majority of haemophilia A patients. Yet, standard diagnostic methods fail in about 2% of cases. This study aimed at analysing the entire intronic sequences of the F8 gene in 15 haemophilia A patients by next generation sequencing. All patients had a mild to moderate phenotype and no mut...

INTRODUCTION Haemophilia A is the most common inherited X-linked recessive bleeding disorder. The severity of the resultant bleeding diathesis depends on the FVIII levels associated with the mutation. Analysis of carrier state can be made indirectly by DNA linkage analysis or directly by identifying the mutation that leads to the disease. The aim of this study was to identification of the causa...

Molecular genetic analysis of families with haemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders is now a common laboratory investigation. In contrast to phenotypic testing in which strict quality control is adhered to, in haemophilia molecular genetic testing there has been a lack of any external quality assurance schemes. In 1998 the UK National External Quality Assessment Scheme (UK NEQAS) est...

There is a paucity of literature on haemophilia treatment in Latin American countries, a region characterized by rapidly improving systems of care, but with substantial disparities in treatment between countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the musculoskeletal status of haemophilia patients from Latin America and to examine the relationship between musculoskeletal status and treatment...

We have performed a monocenter study on 29 consecutive patients with acquired haemophilia A who were referred for diagnosis and treatment to the Düsseldorf Haemophilia Comprehensive Care Center between March 2001 and February 2010. Patients, methods: 18 men (age: 44–86 years) and 11 women (age: 20–83 years). For laboratory evaluation, a standardized staged protocol of aPTT, FVIII : C activity a...

Haemophilia A is a rare inherited bleeding disorder characterized by an inability of the blood to clot normally. Patients can experience spontaneous or trauma-induced joint and soft tissue bleeding and must keep coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) accessible at all times; thus, FVIII product storage and stability are critical. Our primary objective was to assess haemophilia A patients' and caregive...