Mysteries in Blood Clotting and Hemophilia

This study looks further into the failure of blood coagulation in people who suffer from hemophilia C. Proteins like thrombin and factor XI are responsible for blood clotting to occur properly. Both thrombin and factor XI are turned on when injury occurs. They in turn form fibrin, which makes up the actual blood clots that are formed. Factor XI is missing in people with hemophilia C, but scientists were unsure why factor XI impacted the blood coagulation process in such a severe way. The researchers involved in this study monitored thrombin activity using an imaging system. They noticed that thrombin propogates through the blood in waves. The waves traveled fom the activation site to their distant targets in a way that reminded them of how electrical impulses travel down neurons. In the models of hemophilia C, there was no sign of these thrombin waves. After further research, it was revealed that factor XI is important in spreading the waves to targets that are far away in the body. This explains why people with hemophilia C only experience severe bleeding to large injuries and not minor ones. 

I chose this article because I had a friend with hemophilia in high school, so I find any information involving the disorder interesting. The article also suggested that these waves can lead to problems in bloodflow obstruction, like those caused by cardiovascular diseases. This was expecially significant to me since we just covered the cardiovascular system in physiology. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121120122002.htm