Amanda Gee Jessica Meah AP Biology - 3 Hemophilia Amanda Gee Jessica Meah AP Biology - 3

What is Hemophilia? Hemophilia is a rare disorder affecting almost exclusively males. It is an inherited X-linked recessive disease. There are two types of hemophilia: A and B There are no differences in the symptoms, but different genes are affected.

How you get hemophilia? Changes in the F8 gene are responsible for hemophilia A, while mutations in the F9 gene cause hemophilia B. These genes provide instructions for coagulation factors. Mutations in the F8 or F9 gene lead to the production of an abnormal amount of coagulation factors or reduce the amount of one of these proteins. As a result, blood clots cannot form properly in response to injury. 

Where is hemophilia? The genes associated with hemophilia are on the X chromosome It is very rare for females to have hemophilia because it is unlikely that females will have two altered copies of this gene. That is why males almost exclusively have hemophilia. Arien with hemophilia

Symptoms Prolonged bleeding Bleeding in the muscles or joints without known cause Excessive bleeding Swollen and tender muscles and joints Bleeding after a surgery, injury or having a tooth pulled

Life with Hemophilia People with hemophilia always have to live life in fear of getting injured. The consequences of one single cut or bump can be disastrous. They have to live life with great caution always waking up every morning not knowing what’s going to happen. Their families have to be there 24/7 so if anything goes wrong, they can give blood for transfusions. Living with hemophilia is like not living at all. Hemophilia is a curse.

Treatment and Prevention Today, people with hemophilia are treated as needed with intravenous injections of the missing protein required for blood clotting. Because it is an inherited genetic disease, hemophilia CANNOT be prevented. One way to stop hemophilia from growing is for the female carriers of this terrible disease to not reproduce.

History of the Disease Ancient Hebrews must have had some understanding of hemophilia because sons born to women having a family history of hemophilia were exempted from circumcision. The hemophilia blood disorder became known as the royal disease because Queen Victoria was a carrier and passed the carrier status down to many of her daughters.

Famous People Many famous people that were afflicted with hemophilia were: Tsarevitch Alexei, Czar of Russia, and Alexandra Abraham Lincoln

Fun Fact! The monk Rasputin was the only one able to help the young Tsarevich. His use of hypnosis not only relieved pain, but may have also helped slow or stop the boy's hemorrhages.

Work Cited http://www.hemophilia-information.com/history-of-hemophilia.html http://www.historyking.com/Famous-people/Famous-People-With-Hemophilia.html http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/hemophilia