Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Gene Therapy(Christian Medical College)

Factor VIII (FVIII) is a large plasma glycoprotein that participates in blood coagulation. Loss of circulating FVIII activity due to mutations within the F8 gene results in the X-linked, recessive bleeding disorder hemophilia A. The clinical presentation ranges from a mild to severe bleeding phenotype that correlates with the patient's residual plasma FVIII activity level.
Current state of the art treatment entails frequent infusion of FVIII protein. However, several limitations remain to treating hemophilia A, which are 1) access to FVIII-replacement products (currently <30% of the world population is treated adequately, access is highly restricted in India), 2) high burden of compliance with treatment protocols particularly in children 3) the expense of FVIII-replacement products, 4) the development of humoral anti-FVIII immune responses that block FVIII activity and limit treatment efficacy and 5) morbidity due to crippling musculoskeletal disease when inadequately treated. Several newer hemostasis agents are being developed but like the recombinant Clotting Factor Concentrate (CFC) from the 1990s, these are also not likely to be made available in India for many years. Currently, the only cure for hemophilia A is orthotopic liver transplantation.