Effects



All patients with Hemophilia A are at risk for the development of inhibitors, an immune response to factor products. Inhibitors are antibodies the body mistakenly forms to fight what the immune system perceives to be antigenic proteins, the factor proteins. Although some inhibitors are transient, they are difficult and expensive to treat. Treatment is called “immune tolerance therapy” and involves trying to overwhelm the immune system with excessive levels of Factor VIII. In the event that immune tolerance therapy is ineffective, treatment options are limited to Factor VIIa or a by-passing agent.