Maja and Karin Grape were born the 28th of April 1995 in Östersund
Sweden.

I was reading your web site and thought I would drop you a line all the way from Sydney, Australia. I was diagnosed with GT back in the mid 70’s...

My baby was whimpering, she was covered in blood from head to toe, her arms, legs, chest, diaper, and sheets were all saturated in blood. Her hair was matted with blood, her eyelids were sealed shut with dried blood, even her mouth was filled with blood. It was a scene from a nightmare or a horror movie; something straight out of a Stephen King novel, only this was real…"       (Read the rest of the Jefferson Award speech)

The GT website has created the opportunity for people with GT from all over the world to not only get vital information from other GT patients but to actually FIND someone else with GT. The website has inspired people to travel thousands of miles to Augusta just so they can meet other GT patients in person for the first time in their lives. They also come to Augusta to meet the man who brings them hope.

Dr. David Wilcox attends our event annually to keep us abreast on his research progress. He demonstrates his accomplishments in the lab and reports how he has applied our previous donations, and explains how he plans to utilize future contributions in his pursuit of finding a cure for Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia. Dr. Wilcox also enjoys the opportunity to meet the very people his hard work and dedication will affect.

An Article from the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis

Prophylactic and therapeutic recombinant factor VIIa
administration to patients with Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia:
results of an international survey

Antibodies to glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa and/or HLA may render platelet transfusions ineffective to stop bleeding or to cover surgery in patients with Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia (GT). Anecdotal reports suggest recombinant factor (rF)VIIa might be a therapeutic alternative in these situations. Objectives: An international survey was conducted to evaluate further the efficacy and safety of rFVIIa in GT patients. Patients: We analyzed the use of rFVIIa during 34 surgical/invasive procedures and 108 bleeding episodes in 59 GT patients including 29 with current or previous antiplatelet antibodies, and 23 with a history of refractoriness to platelet transfusion.          (read more...)

Mom starts nonprofit to fight disease
By Charmain Z. Brackett
Correspondent

Helen Smith never thought she'd champion a cause until her daughter, Julia, was born.

Julia, 7, has a rare blood disorder called Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. Mrs. Smith, through the Glanzmann's Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization she founded, helps raise money for research to find a cure.

"The year she was born, there were only 200 reported cases" of the disease, said Smith, whose organization will be the beneficiary of a fundraising dinner at the National Science Center's Fort Discovery in March. The event will feature a silent auction with items such as a celebrity hunting weekend.

Julia was diagnosed with the disease when she was about 6 months old.

Daily tomato juice eases diabetic symptoms

20/08/2004 - Drinking tomato juice everday reduced the blood’s clotting ability in people with type 2 diabetes, report Australian researchers this week, reports Dominique Patton.

They found significant lowering of platelet aggregation – the blood's ability to clot – after a daily dose of juice for three weeks, according to the research letter in this week's JAMA (Aug 18;292(7):805-6).            (read more)

S. Monte* and G. Lyons
Department of Obstetric Anaesthesia, St James’ University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7TF, UK*Corresponding author
Accepted for publication: January 7, 2002

We describe the perioperative management of a 31-yr-old primipara with Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia, who required urgent Caesarean delivery at 33 weeks’ gestation. Peripartum haemorrhage was inevitable and was pre-empted by transfusion of multiple blood products, the effects of which were monitored by Thrombelastograph®. The blood products given are discussed.                  (read more)

Background. Patients with Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) have normal platelet counts but abnormal platelet aggregation and carry the risk of life-threatening bleeding. We report three patients who received bone marrow transplantation...    (read more)

Ms. Helen Smith
Glanzmann's Research Foundation
Augusta, GA 30907

Dear Ms. Smith:

On behalf of the Department of Pediatrics and the children we serve, I want to thank you and the Glanzmann's Research Foundation for your generous donation...  (read more)

Monitoring survival and function of transfused platelets in Glanzmann thrombasthenia by flow cytometry and thrombelastography

C. Male, D. Koren, B. Eichelberger, K. Kaufmann & S. Panzer
Department for Pediatrics, and Clinic for Blood Group Serology, Medical University Vienna, Austria

Patients with Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) may form isoantibodies which induce
refractoriness or inhibition of function of transfused platelets. We monitored the
survival and function of transfused platelets by flow cytometry and thrombelastography
in a patient with GT. Gating on CD42a + allowed identification of even a few transfused platelets. Only by gating on these CD41 + CD42a + cells were we able to demonstrate their capability to bind fibrinogen and PAC-1 upon activation.       (read more)

Launch the slideshow to learn how the seafood bandage works.

When it comes to war wounds, red is dead. Stop the bleeding, and you save the soldier. It’s a simple idea that’s driving a budding industry for fast-acting blood-clotting agents.

The latest in the category: a pourable bandage called Celox. Made by SAM Medical Products near Portland, Oregon, Celox is a granular compound derived from shrimp shells. “It resembles uncooked grits,” says Adrian Polliack, SAM’s head of research and development. When poured directly into a bleeding wound and subjected to pressure, the positively charged Celox granules cross-link with negatively charged red blood cells, forming a putty-like plug that blocks blood flow [see slideshow].

The process takes about five minutes and features key advantages over two kinds of high-tech bandages now in use in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike HemCon, a bandage also made of shrimp shells that works only on surface injuries, Celox can be poured into major wounds. QuickClot, a clotting aid made of mineral powder, is similarly applied but creates heat that can cause severe burns.

Celox could hit war zones by year’s end, pending approval by the Food and Drug Administration. After that, your first-aid kit.

Thromboembolic Adverse Events After Use of Recombinant Human Coagulation Factor VIIa
Kathryn A. O’Connell, MD, PhD; Jennifer J. Wood, PhD, MPH; Robert P. Wise, MD, MPH; Jay N. Lozier, MD, PhD; M. Miles Braun, MD, MPH

JAMA. 2006;295:293-298.

Context The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed recombinant human coagulation factor VIIa (rFVIIa) on March 25, 1999, for bleeding in patients with hemophilia A or B and inhibitors to factors VIII or IX. Use in patients without hemophilia has been increasing since licensure.

Objective To review serious thromboembolic adverse events (AEs) reported to the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS).     Read more

Viral rescue of murine
Glanzmann thrombasthenia
Jerry Ware
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES

The platelet integrin receptor is central to the platelet's role in hemostasis and its absence results in the human bleeding disorder, Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT). In this issue of Blood, Fang and colleagues describe ex vivo viral transduction of mouse hematopoietic stem cells and determine the in vivo efficiency required to rescue the GT phenotype in a mouse model of the disorder.      Read more

Iron deficiency is still a big problem today. In fact, the World Health Organization lists iron deficiency as one of the 'Top Ten Risk Factors Contributing to Death'. Read more

The British journal Haemophilia outlined investigators' recommendations appropriate for patients with bleeding disorders, saying..." more