A haemophiliac is a person who is suffering from any of several hereditary genetic illnesses that impair the body’s ability to control bleeding.
My teacher took Queen Victoria as an example of a haemophiliac. 😉
Haemophilia is uncurable. But symptoms can be relieved by frequent injection of coagulation factors purified from blood. Hence if blood is contaminated by HIV, Haemophiliac are likely to become infected.
About this: i read in a genetics book(a college course, 2005 edition) that it is not yet known why sometimes hemophilia appears in women. Most book say that the recessive gene for hemophilia is deadly in a homozygous state. But history has shown us differently. Any info/thoughts?
The main cause of haemaphilia is a gene defect found on the Y-chromosome- bad luck lads! but there other disorders which cause a lack of clotting factors in the blood which can lead to haemaphilia. cant remember what they are but will try to find out
EDIT: Yes, if the gene becomes homozygote, hemophilia occurs in women too. But I haven’t heard that the gene is latel when it is homozygote. All I know is those women often die because of continuous bleeding in mensturation. That was what our genetic prof. said. I don’t know if it is right or wrong.
The term haemophilia refers to several different hereditary disorders that have similar signs and symptoms. Haemophilia A, or classicai Haemophilia, results from a deficiency of factor VIII (antihaemophilic factor). It accounts for 83% of cases. Haemophilia B results from a deficiency of factor IX. Both types are sex-linked conditions occuring primarily in males. Haemophilia c, a less severe form of haemophilia seen in both sexes, is due to a lack of factor XI. The relative mildness of this form, as compared to the A and B forms reflects the fact that the procoagulant (factor IX) that factor XI activates may also be activated by factor VII
