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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Electrolytic Inferior Vena Cava Model (EIM) of Venous Thrombosis
Published on: July 12, 2011
Molecular genetics of venous thromboembolism
1Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of Lund, Malmö General Hospital, Sweden.
Venous thrombosis is often familial, but until recently well-defined genetic defects were only found in a minority of patients. The situation changed with the discovery of inherited resistance to activated protein C (APC) as a novel mechanism for familial thrombophilia. It is caused by a single point mutation in the factor V gene, which predicts replacement of Arg506 in the APC-cleavage site with a Gln. APC resistance is found in a majority of patients with familial thrombosis as well as in 3-7% of the general population. It afflicts affected individuals with a life-long increased risk of thrombosis. The factor V gene mutation is the most prevalent single gene defect associated with thromboembolic disease so far described.
Venous thrombosis is often familial, but until recently well-defined genetic defects were only found in a minority of patients. The situation changed with the discovery of inherited resistance to activated protein C (APC) as a novel mechanism for familial thrombophilia. It is caused by a single point mutation in the factor V gene, which predicts replacement of Arg506 in the APC-cleavage site with a Gln. APC resistance is found in a majority of patients with familial thrombosis as well as in 3-7% of the general population. It afflicts affected individuals with a life-long increased risk of thrombosis. The factor V gene mutation is the most prevalent single gene defect associated with thromboembolic disease so far described.
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