by Mahee Mishra
Hello Readers! This week, we are helping spread awareness about Men's health month, through informative articles designed to increase knowledge about Men's Health! It is vital that people of all genders understand men's health concerns, and we hope that you gain some information about diseases that commonly affect men. Happy Reading!
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Eighty-eight percent of all people diagnosed with hemophilia are men, one of the most staggering sex gaps for a disease. Although it is a rare disease, the effects of it are life threatening.
What is hemophilia?
Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder in which blood is unable to clot itself. Blood clotting is essential to stop excessive bleeding. This itself can cause serious health problems such as infections, internal bleeding, or even death.
What are its causes?
Hemophilia is caused by a mutation in one of the protein genes that code for clotting factor proteins This gene is located in the X chromosome, leading to hemophilia's greater prevalence in men. Hemophilia is specifically an X-linked recessive trait. For context, a man has an XY combination while a woman has an XX combination. In general, the X chromosome has more genes compared to the Y; therefore, a woman has two copies of genes while a man only has one. If a woman’s genes are mutated, there is another copy to help prevent hemophilia, but a man is left with hemophilia. A woman would require both X chromosomes to have the hemophilia mutation. Hence, men are more prone to hemophilia and other sex-linked disorders, such as red-green colorblindness etc.
Furthermore, inheritance patterns and genetics can cause hemophilia as well. Since hemophilia is a gene related disorder, as generations form, genes get passed down from the parents to the child. For context, if a mother has a hemophilia carrying gene and the father has hemophilia, the X hemophilia carrying gene and the X hemophilia gene can cause the child to have hemophilia.
What are its symptoms?
The clotting factors are what determine the symptoms of Hemophilia. For example: if a person has mild clotting, their bleeding will be only after surgery or trauma, but if it is excessive, bleeding can occur with no reason. The symptoms can be as shown.
Nosebleeds with no cause
Excessive bleeding from injuries
Blood in urine/stool
Unusual bleeding
Pain or swelling in the joints
**note: severe hemophilia can also lead to bleeding in the brain**
What are the risks?
Hemophilia can have the same risks for both men and women. Both can experience joint pain, leading to chronic joint disease; bleeding in the brain leading to death; infections; and also excessive internal bleeding also leading to death. A woman can certainly experience hemophilia, but it is simply less common due to her additional X chromosome..
Are there any treatments?
Yes, there are many treatment options available for Hemophilia. The most common treatment option is replacing the clotting factor with donated blood through a tube in the vein. This can be continuous or temporary. However, this is not the sole option. Other options include:
Injection of Desmopressin, which is a drug that can help treat hemophilia A in the body (through vein or nasally)
Medications for clot preservation
Fibrin Sealants (A surgical formulation used to manage bleedings from cavities or surfaces)
Emicizumab/Hemlibra, which is a prescription medicine used to help reduce bleeding episodes for people with Hemophilia A. (Hemophilia A is a bleeding disorder specifically caused by lack of blood clotting factor VIII)
Physical Therapy
In general, diseases or conditions relating to men are underrepresented in the media. Life threatening diseases like hemophilia, especially, must be widely known. In fact, a man may not even know what conditions they are dealing with due to this problem. Hence, we must discuss and recognize these conditions to help keep men healthy.
Thanks so much for reading our article on Hemophilia! We hope you gained knowledge about this important disease and understood how genetics plays a role in Hemophilia developing. Please be on the lookout for our next Men's Health Week article!
If you liked this article, check out our Dwarfism article, linked here. This article covers the etiology, treatments, and lifestyles associated with Dwarfism. It's a must read for sure!
Until next time,
Mahee and the Writing Committee :)
References :
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2021, October 7). Hemophilia. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemophilia/symptoms-causes/syc-20373327
Elflein, J. (2021, November 11). Bleeding Disorders Worldwide by gender 2020. Statista. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/495675/percentager-of-people-with-bleeding-disorders-in-worldwide-by-gender/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, July 17). What is hemophilia. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hemophilia/facts.html