Hemophilia Federation of America is a national nonprofit organization that assists, educates and advocates for the bleeding disorders community.
HFA joins Plasma Protein Therapeutic Association (PPTA) and its other Member Companies sponsor the second International Plasma Awareness Week (IPAW) to be celebrated globally October 9-15, 2016.聽This event is held annually and is designed to: Raise global awareness about source plasma collection Recognize the contributions of plasma donors to saving and improving lives Increase understanding […]
Note: This article originally appeared on Medscape.聽To read the FDA release on聽Daklinza (genotype 3), click here. For the FDA release regarding聽Technivie (genotype 4), click here. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two new drugs today for hepatitis C (HCV), one for genotype 3 and the other for genotype 4. The first medication is […]
Note: The following is taken from a press release from the Korean-based Institute for Basic Science. To read the original release, click here. Sufferers of hemophilia live in a perpetual state of stress and anxiety: their joints wear down prematurely and they have bleeding episodes that feel like they will never end. Their bodies lack […]
Last December,聽Food and Drug Administration (FDA)聽Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg 聽set forth a recommendation to聽change the current blood donation policy for men who have sex with men (MSM). The old policy, set forth in the height of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, barred men who have had sex with men since 1977 from donating blood. […]
Note: This press release was originally published by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. To read the original post, please click here. ____________________ Children with hemophilia A require three to four infusions each week to prevent bleeding episodes, chronic pain and joint damage. The effect on quality of life can be significant, due to time and discomfort […]
Note: This story was originally published by Joseph Walker,聽Wall Street Journal reporter, on April 8, 2015. To see the original post, click here. ____________________ A pricey pill made by聽Gilead Sciences聽Inc.聽caused Medicaid spending on hepatitis C treatments to soar last year, even as most states restricted access to the drug, leaving many low-income patients untreated. State […]
Note: The below email was sent by the Centers Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on April 3, 2015: People with聽hemophilia聽lack a protein (a clotting factor) necessary for blood to clot normally. This can lead to spontaneous bleeding as well as bleeding following injuries or surgery. The best way to treat hemophilia is to replace the […]
Research has suggested that women who are carriers for hemophilia (see definition in box聽below) might have an increased tendency to bleed. Repeat bleeding into the joint can lead to persistent joint swelling, ultimately leading to limited joint movement, and reduced joint range of motion.聽Given that there is an under-appreciation of the effects of being a […]
British Prime Minister David Cameron apologized on Wednesday, March 26, 2015 to thousands of people who were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C after being treated for unrelated conditions with contaminated blood in the 1970s and 1980s. Survivors and relatives of people who died after being infected through blood therapies or transfusions have campaigned for […]
Research showed that bleeding events were drastically decreased in animals with Hemophilia B. Using a viral vector to swap out faulty genes proved safe and could be used for the more common Hemophilia A. _______________________________ A multi-year, ongoing study suggests that a new kind of gene therapy for Hemophilia B could be safe and effective […]
The following is an abstract from the March issue of the聽Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases. To read the full article, click here. _____________ Acquired hemophilia A (AHA) is a rare bleeding disorder due to the development of specific autoantibodies against factor VIII. The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody Rituximab has been proven to be effective […]
On Thursday, January 22, 2015, the聽CDC聽hosted a webinar to help women with a bleeding disorder recognize the signs and symptoms of reproductive issues. The webinar was facilitated by聽Andra H. James, MD. Dr. James is Consulting Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Duke University, where she also has an appointment in the Division of Hematology. Dr. […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Viekira Pak (ombitasvir, paritaprevir and ritonavir tablets co-packaged with dasabuvir tablets) to treat patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection, including those with a type of advanced liver disease called cirrhosis. Hepatitis C is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the liver that […]
Today, Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set forth a recommendation to change the current MSM blood donation policy. The current policy, set forth in the height of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, forbade men who have had sex with men since 1977 from donating blood. The new policy […]
On September 24, 2014, the medical journal,聽Blood, came out with a study called,聽Recombinant Factor VIII Products and Inhibitor Development in Previously Untreated Boys with Severe Hemophilia A.聽 This study suggests聽that inhibitor incidence is higher in previously untreated patients (PUPs) with severe hemophilia A that are using聽Kogenate/Helixate.聽 The聽World Hemophilia Federation聽(WHF) issued a聽statement on October 6,聽and another […]
On November 19, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital announced the results of their ongoing gene therapy partnership with University College London and the Royal Free Hospital. The report indicates success in the trial, which used a modified adeno associated virus (AAV) 8 to deliver genetic material for making Factor IX in Hemophilia B patients. In […]
On September 24, 2014, the medical journal,聽Blood, came out with a study called,聽Recombinant Factor VIII Products and Inhibitor Development in Previously Untreated Boys with Severe Hemophilia A.聽 This study suggests聽that inhibitor incidence is higher in previously untreated patients (PUPs) with severe hemophilia A that are using聽Kogenate/Helixate. The Food and Drug Administration聽(FDA)聽and European Medicines Agency (EMA)聽have […]
[glossary_exclude] A technique developed by Stanford researchers could provide a safer, longer-lasting method of replacing faulty, disease-causing genes with working copies. The ability to pop a working copy of a faulty gene into a patient鈥檚 genome is a tantalizing goal for many clinicians treating genetic diseases. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine […]
On Friday, October 24, 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Obizur [Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant), Porcine Sequence] for the treatment of bleeding episodes in adults with acquired hemophilia A (acquired Factor VIII [FVIII] deficiency). Acquired hemophilia A is a rare, but potentially life threatening, bleeding disorder caused by the development of antibodies (immune system […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Harvoni (ledipasvir and sofosbuvir) to treat chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection. Harvoni is the first combination pill approved to treat chronic HCV genotype 1 infection. It is also the first approved regimen that does not require administration with interferon or ribavirin, two FDA-approved drugs […]
[glossary_exclude] This information was originally sent by the Division of Blood Disorders in the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an email on Wednesday, October 8, 2014.[/glossary_exclude] ____________________________________ Information about bleeding disorders is vital for young women. It can help them recognize […]
Hepatitis C (HCV), often referred to as the 鈥渟ilent killer鈥, has been a serious crisis for the bleeding disorders community, who contracted the disease from contaminated blood products prior to the early 1990s. Treatments exist, but with many difficult side effects and mediocre efficacy. However, advocacy in the bleeding disorders community has contributed to the […]
On September 24, 2014, the medical journal, Blood, came out with a study called, Recombinant Factor VIII Products and Inhibitor Development in Previously Untreated Boys with Severe Hemophilia A.聽 This study suggests聽that inhibitor incidence is higher in previously untreated patients (PUPs) with severe Hemophilia A that are using Kogenate/Helixate (Bayer/Nexgen). Click here to read the […]
Cooler weather and back to school triggers the start of virus season.聽 More time spent indoors in close proximity to those that we work, play, learn, and live with聽provides a great opportunity for viruses to work their way from one person to the next.聽 While we all try to stay healthy, it is especially important […]
New and exciting news recently published in the journal Blood about a possible method to prevent and treat inhibitors. A聽University of Pennsylvania聽researcher has successfully prevented inhibitors from forming in mice with聽hemophilia聽by using a plant-based drug to teach the immune system to tolerate clotting factors. Read this University of Pennsylvania 聽press release in its entirety. ____________________________ […]
Inhibitors are antibodies that the immune system develops because it sees the infused clotting factor as a foreign substance that needs to be destroyed. Antibodies are proteins that eat up the activated factor before it has time to stop the bleeding. Approximately 30% of people with severe Hemophilia A are affected by inhibitors at some […]
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALNY), a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) has granted Orphan Drug Designations for ALN-AT3 as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of hemophilia A and hemophilia B. Alnylam is developing ALN-AT3, a subcutaneously administered RNAi therapeutic targeting antithrombin […]
*This article was originally posted on July 17, 2014 in聽Penn Current聽and was written by聽Katherine Unger Baillie.聽Click here to read this article in its entirety. ____________________________________ Hemophilia is a rare but potentially dangerous disease. People with the condition produce very low levels of clotting factor, the proteins in blood that stop bleeding and help begin the […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has determined the following: The evidence is adequate to conclude that screening for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), consistent with the grade B recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), is reasonable and necessary for the prevention or early detection of an illness or disability and […]
Blood Transfusion, a quarterly print and online publication of the Italian Society on Transfusion Medicine and Immunohaematology (SIMTI), released a special edition at the WFH World Congress in Melbourne entitled 鈥淗aemophilia Centre Accreditation Systems and Networks of Centres of Expertise for Rare Diseases in Europe and North America鈥. 聽This report supplement reviews current efforts in […]
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