Blood-clotting Protein Modified For People With Hard-to-treat Hemophilia
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - 13:21
in Health & Medicine
Pathologists have developed a chemically modified protein that may help people with a hard-to-treat form of a genetic bleeding disorder known as hemophilia A. With a shortage of the blood-clotting protein Factor VIII (FVIII), people with Hemophilia A typically receive injections of FVIII derived from plasma or produced synthetically to control potentially life-threatening episodes of bleeding. Unfortunately as many as 1 in 3 people with Hemophilia A produce inhibitor antibodies, which attack the externally-administered FVIII and negate its blood-clotting benefits.