|
|
|
Your Family Tree and VWD |
| Build your family tree |
| |
Most people who have VWD are born with it. VWD is passed along from
parent to child in certain families.
1
However, because the symptoms may be mild, a family member could have VWD and never
know it.
1
Also, because this disorder runs in families, people with VWD often have relatives (an aunt,
grandparent, or cousin) with some form of unusual bleeding.
2
VWD is passed along from parent to child in a special kind of pattern, called autosomal dominant
inheritance. This means that if one parent has VWD, the child has a 50% chance of inheriting a mild
form of the disease. If both parents have VWD, the child could inherit either a mild (50% chance),
or severe (25% chance) form of the disease. Take a look at the diagram in below.
|
|
Adopted with permission from Montgomery and Hilgartner.
3
|
|
| |
Spontaneous
Sometimes, VWD may occur without a family history. This is known as a
new mutation. However, once a person has VWD, whether it is inherited or spontaneous, they
can pass it along to their children.
3
|
|
REFERENCES
1. White GC II, Montgomery RR. Clinical aspects of and therapy for von
Willebrand disease. In: Hoffman R, Benz EJ Jr, Shattil SJ, et al, eds. Hematology: Basic Principles
and Practice. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone Inc; 2000:1946-1958.
2.
Sham RL, Francis CW. Evaluation of mild bleeding disorders and easy bruising. Blood Rev.
1994;8:98-104.
3. Montgomery RR, Hilgartner MW. Understanding von Willebrand Disease. The
National Hemophilia Foundation; 1991.
|
|
|
|
