Recent progress in the biochemical characterization of coagulation factors VIII and IX has greatly contributed to our understanding of the inheritance of hemophilia and von Willebrand's disease and facilitated the recognition of carriers of these disorders. Factor VIII is a molecular complex which may be quantitated immunologically as factor VIII-related antigen. Within this complex reside the ...

BACKGROUND Hemophilia A is a bleeding disorder caused by deficiency in coagulation factor VIII. Recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) is an alternative to plasma-derived FVIII for the treatment of hemophilia A. However, commercial manufacturing of rFVIII products is inefficient and costly and is associated to high prices and product shortage, even in economically privileged countries. This situation...

Circulating antibodies to factor VIII (anti-VIII, "inhibitors") occurring in patients with hemophilia neutralize porcine factor VIII less readily than human factor VIII in vitro. Over an 18-mo period, 8 patients with anti-VIII were treated with 45 courses (297 infusions) of polyelectrolyte-fractionated porcine factor VIII concentrate (PE porcine VIII). Where no anti-PE porcine VIII was detectab...

When plasma is separated or recovered from a blood donation or when plasma is collected by plasmapheresis the end result is not just a fluid which can be used in the treatment of many medical conditions but a raw material which can be used for the production of specific life saving or life enhancing medications for a variety of conditions. These conditions include Haemophilia A and Haemophilia ...

We investigated the activation of the nonenzymatic protein cofactors factor VIII and factor V in plasma when coagulation was initiated by thromboplastin. With sensitive bioassays, we were able to measure specifically the generation of activated factor VIII and activated factor V in plasma. Our results showed that when plasma was triggered with a relatively high concentration of thromboplastin, ...

Thromboembolic events (TEE) are a serious clinical problem in multiple myeloma (MM) patients receiving thalidomide (T). Thirty-one MM patients were tested on diagnosis and after 2 and 4 weeks of therapy with T alone, or T in combination with dexamethasone (TD). Closure time (CT) in PFA-100 and P-selectin expression were assessed, as well as plasma levels of thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TAT)...

Haemophilia is a rare and congenital bleeding disorder caused by a genetic defect, resulting in a lack of or insufficient coagulation factors VIII or IX in the body. In affected individuals, this causes an inability to clot blood, leading to bleeds in the joints, muscles and soft tissues. If left untreated, this can lead to disability and sometimes death. It is widely agreed that the optimal st...

A high plasma concentration of coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) is an important risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE) (1-4). In the Leiden Thrombophilia study for example, FVIII levels above 1500 IU/L conferred an almost 5-fold risk for a first episode of deep-vein thrombosis (1). Most importantly, high FVIII is also associated with a very high risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism (4,...