Hemophilia A is a disease caused by a deficiency of coagulation factor VIII resulting from genetic inheritance linked to chromosome X. One treatment option is the administration of plasma or recombinant FVIII. However, some patients develop inhibitors or antibodies against this factor. Inhibitors are alloantibodies that bind to the epitope of factor VIII causing it to be recognized by the immun...

It has been suggested that the basis for the marked discordance in factor VIII parameters in preeclampsia is the result of proteolysis of the factor VIII procoagulant component (VIII:C) owing to activation of the coagulation system. To investigate this further, levels were compared of factor VIII:C and VIII:C (Ag), the immunologic equivalent of the procoagulant activity, in a series of preeclam...

All thrombolytic agents in current clinical usage are plasminogen activators. Although effective, plasminogen activators uniformly increase the risk of bleeding complications, especially intracranial hemorrhage, and no laboratory test is applicable to avoid such bleeding. We report results of a randomized, blinded, dose-ranging comparison of tissue-type plasminogen activator (TPA) with a direct...

A patient was referred for investigation of heavy bleeding after surgery. He showed several features of hypothyroidism but no goitre. Primary autoimmune hypothyroidism was confirmed by the finding of a low serum thyroxine concentration and a high thyrotropin concentration. Factor VIII concentration was low, and a mild coagulation inhibitor was found. The patient was treated with thyroxine and r...

Factor VII circulates as a single chain inactive zymogen (10 nmol/L) and a trace ( approximately 10-100 pmol/L) circulates as the 2-chain form, factor VIIa. Factor VII and factor VIIa were studied in a coagulation model using plasma concentrations of purified coagulation factors with reactions initiated with relipidated tissue factor (TF). Factor VII (10 nmol/L) extended the lag phase of thromb...

We identified a novel Drosophila protein of approximately 400 kDa, hemolectin (d-Hml), secreted from haemocyte-derived Kc167 cells. Its 11.7 kbp cDNA contains an open reading frame of 3843 amino acid residues, with conserved domains in von Willebrand factor (VWF), coagulation factor V/VIII and complement factors. The d-hml gene is located on the third chromosome (position 70C1-5) and consists o...

Acquired haemophilia A (AHA) is a rare hemorrhagic disease caused by an autoantibody against coagulation factor VIII. Nonhaemophiliac patients develop autoantibodies (inhibitors) directed against the factor VIII circulating coagulation protein. Disease is associated with an increased morbidity and mortality. Inhibitors against FVIII induce acute and life-threatening hemorrhagic diathesis becaus...

BACKGROUND Elevated plasma levels of coagulation factor VIII are a strong risk factor for pulmonary emboli and deep venous thromboses. OBJECTIVES To identify reversible biomarkers associated with high factor VIII and assess potential significance in a specific at-risk population. PATIENTS/METHODS 609 patients with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia were recruited prospectively in two se...

Coagulation is triggered during the onset of myocardial infarction, resulting in vascular occlusion. However, a causal role for individual haemostatic factors in the development of thrombotic occlusion is not established. Three cases (all relatively young women) are reported of raised factor VIII associated with myocardial infarction. Two patients presented acutely with myocardial infarction at...

The classification of factor VIII deficiency, generally used based on plasma levels of factor VIII, consists of severe (<1% normal factor VIII activity), moderate (1% to 4% factor VIII activity), or mild (5% to 25% factor VIII activity). A recent communication described four individuals bearing identical factor VIII mutations. This resulted in a severe bleeding disorder in two patients who carr...