User:Atcovi/Science/Hemophilia

Hemophilia is a rare genetic disorder to which the blood in a person is not clotting normally or is slowed down drastically. This causes the person to experience bleeding a lot longer than usual after an injury or surgery.

Symptoms
Symptoms vary according to the severeness of the disorder on the person. If the disorder is mild, then the only symptom is simply bleeding longer than usual after an injury/surgery. If the disorder is severe, then symptoms shown may range from:
 * 1) Excessive length of time for bleeding after a small injury.
 * 2) Spontaneous bleeding (bleeding with no injuries).
 * 3) Random nosebleeds.
 * 4) Bleeding into internal organs, such as the joints and the brain.
 * 5) Blood in urine or while defecating.
 * 6) Random bruises that are large in size.

Genetic Cause
Although similar in symptoms, there are two types of hemophilia with different genetic causes:
 * 1) Hemophilia A - Mutations in the F8 gene located on the X chromosome cause the abnormal production of a coagulation factor (a protein that assists in the blood clotting process) known as Coagulation factor VIII. Either the form of the coagulation factor VIII is an abnormal version or there isn't enough of the protein factor to assist in the blood clotting process.
 * 2) Hemophilia B - Mutations in the F9 gene located on the X chromosome cause the abnormal production of a coagulation factor known as Coagulation factor IX. Either there is too little or an abnormal version of Coagulation factor IX is produced, decreasing the effectiveness of the protein in the blood clotting process.

Both versions of hemophilia are X-linked recessive. The disease is more common in males as they have only one X chromosome as opposed to females, who have two X chromosomes. One copy of the Hemophilia gene on the X chromosome is enough for the males to be infected with Hemophilia. Hemophilia is rare in females as two copies of the gene in both of the X chromosome is a rare sight. Instead, females can be carriers by having one altered gene in one of their X chromosomes.