A rare disease, von Willebrand disease (VWD) affects nearly 1 in every 100 people in the US. In other words, up to 1% of its population.
What is it? What are its symptoms and causes? How is it treated?
Let’s take a look.
What is von Willebrand disease (VWD)?
Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is the most common bleeding disorder. The disease causes people to bleed excessively, as their blood does not clot properly.
Unlike most of us, when people with VWD are bruised or injured, the platelets in their blood do not accumulate and stick together to form a clot that plugs the outflowing blood.
As a consequence, they bleed excessively. In fact, in extremely rare cases, the bleeding can be severe enough to damage internal organs or even joints.
Signs of von Willebrand disease (VWD)
Here are the major symptoms of VWD.
- Frequent nosebleeds
- Easy bruising
- Women experience heavy menstrual bleeding
- Excessive or prolonged bleeding after injury, surgery, childbirth, or dental work
Causes of von Willebrand disease (VWD)
Our plasma contains a variety of proteins that serve different purposes. One of them is the von Willebrand factor (VWF), which is the glue that holds platelets together when they accumulate in response to a bruise or injury that causes bleeding.
The plasma of most people with VWD has low levels of VWF or it is adequate, but the factors do not function properly. In others, the levels are extremely low or the factors are outright absent.
In both cases, the absence of the ‘glue’ means that their platelets cannot stick together, thereby preventing the formation of a clot, and hence, allowing blood to flow out unplugged.
There are three types of VWD.
- Type 1: The most common type of VWD, people with Type 1 VWD have levels of VWF that are lower than average. Nearly 85% of VWD cases are found to be Type 1.
- Type 2: People with Type 2 VWD have normal levels of VWF. However, they do not function properly. Type 2 is further divided into four types — 2A, 2B, 2M, 2N — in the case of each of which the factors ill-function in different ways.
- Type 3: The rarest and most severe type of VWD, it is characterized by extremely low or no factors. Only 3% of VWD cases are Type 3.
Type 1, Type 2, or Type 3, most people who have von Willebrand disease are born with it. In other words, the disease is inherited.
How is von Willebrand disease (VWD) treated?
Treatment varies with the type and severity of von Willebrand disease.
Many therapies are plasma-based — concentrated forms of von Willebrand factors isolated from the plasma donated by healthy, voluntary plasma donors.
The therapies act as an external supply, helping increase the level of VWF in the blood, thereby allowing the platelets to stick together and clot blood normally and effectively.
Learn more about plasma. Visit www.iplasma.life
