Join the 'Blood Disorders' group to help and get support from people like you. How it works
Blood Disorders Blog
| Tweet |
Off-Label Use of Clotting Drug Soars, Report Finds
Posted 18 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, April 18 – Hospitals are using a pricey blood-clotting drug in treating people who do not have hemophilia, a rare disorder in which blood does not clot normally – even though its use in such patients is potentially risky, according to new research. Stanford University researchers found that use of the drug, known as recombinant factor 7a, grew by 140 times from use in 125 cases in 2000 to 17,813 in 2008, with off-label uses accounting for most of the increase. The $10,000-a-dose drug was used in people with hemophilia just 4 percent of the time, according to U.S. hospital statistics from 2000 to 2008. The rest of the time, it was used during heart surgery and to treat medical problems such as trauma and bleeding in the brain. The researchers content that such use puts patients at risk for heart attack and stroke because the drug can boost the risk of blood clots. "The stakes ... Read more
Related support groups: Blood Disorders
Gene Rx May Fight Severe Blood Disorder
Posted 15 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15 – Patients suffering from a severe, inherited blood disorder may one day benefit from a new gene therapy and no longer need regular blood transfusions, new research suggests. However, far more study is needed to determine whether the therapy is safe and effective. So far only one patient has received the experimental treatment, and the researchers have followed him for only three years. The blood disorder – beta-thalassemia – occurs when a crucial blood protein known as beta globin is missing from the red blood cells that carry oxygen. Without beta globin, many of the red blood cells die off, causing severe anemia and eventually death if the person goes untreated. Beta-thalassemia mostly affects people of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian and Chinese descent. Some 100,000 children are born with the disease each year around the world, according to the ... Read more
Related support groups: Blood Disorders
Ask a Question
Further Information
Related Condition Support Groups
Anemia, Lymphoma, Leukemia, Bleeding Disorder, Protein S Deficiency, Protein C Deficiency, Myeloproliferative Disorders, Leukocytosis, Cryoglobulinemia, Exchange Transfusion