Rare Disease Day, observed this year on Feb. 29, serves as a poignant reminder of the challenges facing those who live with uncommon medical conditions. According to the event’s website, a rare disease is defined as one that affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 individuals. Among these conditions…

Sarcopenia, or loss of muscle mass and strength, may occur in as many as half of adults with severe hemophilia A who experience recurrent joint bleeds, according to a small study in Turkey. In addition, measuring muscle mass in the thighs with ultrasound, which is a noninvasive imaging test…

I arrived late for the concert. An usher whisked me to my seat, as my husband and our son Caeleb had already arrived. As I walked down the aisle, feeling very conspicuous in my clerical collar (I didn’t have time to change), I noticed the backs of hundreds…

A real-world study in Spain found that, among hemophilia patients, those with hemophilia A may have have worse joint health — and more joint damage, particularly in the ankles — than those with hemophilia B. Importantly, though, such damage appeared to be less frequent for individuals on regular…

I’ve written here numerous times about my love for the American pop-punk band Fall Out Boy. Since discovering them in 2007, I’ve been a huge fan of not just their music, but also the guys in the band and their individual career paths. My husband, Jared, and I…

In the 1970s and ’80s, treating my von Willebrand disease and hemophilia B often involved a regimen that included fresh frozen plasma, platelets, and cryoprecipitate. Cryoprecipitate, a blood component derived from frozen plasma, contains vital clotting factors such as fibrinogen, factor VIII, von Willebrand factor, and factor…

Almost three years of treatment with SerpinPC was associated with a nearly complete resolution of bleeds and a reduction in the number of affected joints among men with severe hemophilia A or B who participated in a Phase 1/2a clinical trial. The…

When I was a young woman, I was very negative. I would look ahead to a situation and immediately imagine the possible pitfalls. I never considered everything would work according to plan. When plans went better than expected, it was a bonus. As a former glass-half-empty kind of person,…