Joel Moake

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura What every physician needs to know: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a severe, life-threatening disorder caused by extensive, systemic platelet adhesion and aggregation. TTP is a type of thrombotic microangiopathy. It is characterized by organ ischemia, profound thrombocytopenia, erythrocyte fragmentation, and severe deficiency of a plasma von Willebrand factor (VWF)-cleaving protease, ADAMTS-13…

von Willebrand Disease (VWD) What every physician needs to know Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a huge multimeric protein comprised of identical 280,000 Dalton monomeric subunits. VWF is critical in the initiation of hemostasis. VWF multimers are produced and secreted by endothelial cells (and platelets) and, because they bind to platelet glycoprotein (GP) I receptors,…