The recent Rare Blood Disease Summit sponsored by Genentech highlighted a critical perspective pertinent to me: “Mild is the most dangerous word in hemophilia.” I wholeheartedly agree with this statement as a person with mild hemophilia B and von Willebrand disease. Mild hemophilia is distinguished…

Imagine you are in an emergency room with a life-threatening bleeding problem. How would you convince an ER doctor that you are a woman with hemophilia if they don’t think women with hemophilia exist? I have both von Willebrand disease (VWD) and hemophilia B, a less common form…

Gene therapy delivering the blood clotting factor VIII (FVIII) — whose lack causes hemophilia A — into the joints did better at protecting against hemophilic arthropathy (joint damage) than did administration into the bloodstream, a study in mice suggests. Its findings support the potential use of FVIII injected directly into…

I am not merely a carrier of hemophilia. I am certainly not an asymptomatic carrier of hemophilia. I am not even a symptomatic carrier of hemophilia. I am a woman…

A web-based software to help personalize dosing regimens for hemophilia A patients being treated with Adynovate is now available in the U.S., according to Takeda. The software, called myPKFiT, previously was available only for individuals being treated with Advate. For Adynovate, it is to be used by…

Most people with severe hemophilia A who were given once-weekly treatment with efanesoctocog alfa in the Phase 3 XTEND-1 trial were bleed-free over a year on treatment. The therapy also improved joint and overall physical health and eased pain intensity in the participants compared with previous treatments. Results…

Electrically stimulating the vagus nerve — the main set of nerve fibers that control involuntary bodily functions — significantly reduced blood loss and sped up clot formation after injury in a mouse model of hemophilia A, according to a recent study. Controlling bleeding by stimulating the vagus nerve was…

Exercise can be an important part of recovering from hemophilia and continuing to keep a handle on it, according to a German review of previous research. The study, “Programmed Sports Therapy (PST) in People with Haemophilia (PwH) — Sports Therapy Model for Rare Diseases,”  appeared in the…

I rarely disclose my diagnosis of hemophilia B and von Willebrand disease to others. I don’t like to speak about it, which is odd for someone who writes a column on the topic. Writing is different, though. I hope it will make a difference. By sharing…