[Hemophilia, a disease that was mistakenly considered to be exclusively male]

Nicolas Guerin1

  • 1Centre de ressources et de compétences - maladies hémorragiques rares de Caen, CHU de Caen Normandie, avenue de la Côte de Nacre, 14000 Caen, France.

Hemophilia is a rare genetic disorder linked to the X chromosome, caused by a deficiency in clotting factors (factor VIII or IX). It increases the risk of bleeding, with severity varying according to the extent of the deficiency. The more severe the deficiency, the more frequent the bleeding; in severe cases of hemophilia, bleeding can even occur spontaneously. Thanks to effective treatments, the life expectancy of patients with this condition is now close to that of the general population.

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