title: Factor VIII half-life and intensity of treatment in hemophilic patients.
abstract: It is well known that severe hemophilic patients have a considerable different factor VIII half-lives. Details of the effect of the inter-individual variation of Factor VIII half-live on treatment or clinical outcome has not been reported. Accordingly, during many years several strategies in prophylactic treatment for severe haemophilia have been used (intermediate-dose of plasma FVIII versus high-dose regime). In the retrospective study by van Dijk et al. (see page 494), the authors show an association between factor VIII half-live and the clinical characteristics of patients with severe hemophilia. Patients with shorter factor VIII half-life need more intensive treatment to prevent joint bleeds and arthropaty than patients with longer factor VIII half-life. Further prospective studies should necessary to confirm whether assessment of factor VIII half-life before the start of prophylaxis could modify the intensity of treatment and prevention of arthropaty among patients with severe hemophilia.
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Hemodonación, C/Ronda de Garay s/n, Murcia 30003, Spain. vvg@um.es.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vicente
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005169:Factor VIII / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006207:Half-Life; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000097:blood* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D005169:Factor VIII