Why Is It Called Christmas Disease?

Discussion Too much or too little causes the important homeostatic balance of life to be upset. This is true of the interactions between the circulatory and hematology systems of the body and their important function in ensuring that the circulatory system plumbing is not leaking (i.e. bleeding) and also not getting plugged up (i.e. thrombosis). A healthy system has adequate numbers of functional platelets, and protein synthesis of the factors needed for a balanced hemostasis system. An adequate amount of Vitamin K is needed for some factors activity. Additionally the absence of any drugs that interfere with platelets or the factors (i.e. aspirin, heparin, warfarin, etc.) is needed for a healthy system. If any one of the clotting cascade factors is missing or abnormal, then bleeding can result. Hemophilia A, Hemophilia B and von Willebrand Disease are the most common bleeding disorders with von Willebrand Disease being the most common inherited bleeding disorder overall. The coagulation cascade is naturally a highly regulated system with many parts that is usually divided into 2 pathways that activate a common pathway. Images of the coagulation cascade can be reviewed here. The factors involved are: Intrinsic system – VIII, IX, X, XI, XII Extrinsic system – III, VII Common pathway – I, II, V, X, XIII Factors that are dependent on Vitamin K for activity are – II, VII, IX and X, plus Protein C, Protein S and Protein Z which are regulator proteins Mo...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news