With each new advance in medicine comes ethical dilemmas, from fertility treatments and newborn screening, to vaccinations, gene therapies and euthanasia. But rare diseases and the expensive therapies needed to treat them — particularly in an age of scarce economic resources — almost always entail “tragic choices,” warned Avraham Steinberg,…
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Erectile dysfunction, more commonly known as male impotence, is associated with older age in men with hemophilia, especially those who smoked long term and have high blood pressure, a study reports. The study, titled “Erectile dysfunction in patients with haemophilia,” was published in Haemophilia. Hemophilia is…
Advate is an effective and well-tolerated treatment among patients with hemophilia A, according to an observational, long-term, Japanese study. The treatment showed better results when used as a preventive, rather than an on-demand, therapy. The findings were reported in an article titled “Inhibitor development, safety and efficacy of…
Hemophilia patients who take intermediate‐dose preventive medication may experience more of an age-related decline in sports participation, joint status, and physical functioning than those on a high dose, a population-based study suggests. The study, “Sports participation and physical activity in adult…
Rare diseases affect about 30 million Americans — roughly the same number as those with type 2 diabetes. Yet only 5 percent of the estimated 7,000 rare diseases known to science have cures or treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Raising awareness of those illnesses and highlighting…
According to hemophilia A patients, FuseNGo, Pfizer‘s pre-filled syringe device used for both the treatment and prevention of bleeding, is easy to use and has a wide range of benefits, a study reports. These results support the potential for FuseNGO to increase patient adherence to therapy. The study,…
Scientists successfully combined the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 and a special type of virus to deliver corrected genes to restore the function of the coagulation factor IX (FIX) gene in young mice with hemophilia B. The study, “Long-term correction of hemophilia B using adenoviral delivery of CRISPR/Cas9,”…
Researchers have identified four distinct subgroups of hemophilia A patients according to their profile of factor VIII-targeting antibodies. This may help predict those at risk for developing inhibitors that halt the efficacy of FVIII replacement therapy. The results were presented in a poster titled “Data Coming out of the…
The world’s biggest gathering of rare disease researchers, patient groups, pharmaceutical executives, and government officials is planned for April 10–12 in a Washington, D.C., suburb. Some 1,200 people have already registered to attend the World Orphan Drug Congress (WODC) USA 2019, set to take place at the Gaylord National Harbor…
The relapse rate is higher in older patients with acquired hemophilia A (AHA) treated with immunosuppressive therapies, but it doesn’t affect their overall survival compared with those who don’t relapse, a study suggests. The study, “Relapse pattern and long‐term outcomes in subjects with acquired haemophilia A,” was published in…
