New Delhi: Patients suffering from Hemophilia, the "royal" disorder which affects the blood`s ability to clot, will get some respite soon with a new
treatment called `recombinant factor VIII` being introduced in
the country.
Factor VIII is an essential blood clotting protein also known as anti-hemophilic factor (AHF). Defects in this gene cause hemophilia A.
`Recombinant factor VIII` treatment involves injecting the factor VIII into the blood stream of a hemophilia patient.
It is manufactured through recombinant DNA technology and not derived from plasma component of the blood, which is in short supply worldwide.
The recombinant product is expected to address supply gap and availability issues. It is easily available in many parts of the world as compared to plasma derived factors and more than 70 percent diagnosed hemophiliacs have shifted to recombinant products worldwide.
In India, till now, treatment through plasma-derived concentrates has been more popular. However, their use in the past has been complicated by infection caused by viral pathogens particularly the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the hepatitis viruses.
According to Dr R Pathak of the Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital, the plasma derivative treatment is cheaper at Rs 11 per vial and so will be much affordable. But the recombinant factor therapy has almost no chances of infection like HIV and hepatitis.
"Early administration of factor concentrates, reduces the extent of joint bleeding and its complications," Pathak said.
India has approximately one lakh people affected with Hemophilia with an estimated prevalence rate of 1:100,00. Out of the one lakh patients, the cases of 60,000 would be severe.
There are about 13,000 registered patients.
Doctors say laboratory diagnostic facilities are inadequate and as a result only 12 percent of the hemophiliacs get diagnosed. Statistics indicate that India together with China, Bangladesh and Indonesia represent only 10 percent of the people with hemophilia who have been diagnosed worldwide.
These countries account for less than two percent of the factor concentrates used worldwide for treatment of hemophilia.
Hemophilia is called a royal disease as the most famous patient of this disorder was probably Russian Prince Alexis, the future czar of Russia, who was killed during the Bolshevik revolution.
PTI