Learning History Of Coagulation

Blood coagulation research began at the start of the eighteenth century but was given a boost in the 1830s by Andral’s pioneering synthesis of medical information and Buchanan’s experimental experiments. From the period of Andral and Buchanan until the present, the development of blood coagulation research can be arbitrarily split into four phases. During the third and fourth stages, which encompass the period from WWII to the present, the activity of thrombin was discovered, as was the presence of prothrombin and antithrombins. 

These advancements were supported by a philosophical trend called mechanistic materialism, which marginalised the significance of organisms in blood function and concentrated on the soluble compounds of plasma. The second phase, which roughly spanned the first half of the twentieth century, saw the discovery of heparin, vitamin K, and dicoumarol, as well as the discovery of prothrombin and an expanding number of coagulation factors.

Coagulation research got established in its mechanistic-materialist nature. We have analysed the origins of this intellectual movement in a division that occurred around 1847. This rift was principally between du Bois Reymond, a renowned proponent of mechanical materialism, and Virchow, a pioneer of cellular pathology and proponent of the ‘pathophysiological’ approach to biomedicine. 

Activation of Coagulation

The blood coagulation and immune systems of higher species are thought to have descended from a single ancestor. The blood coagulation process is activated throughout infections, and hemostatic system components are directly implicated in immune response and immune system regulation. Activating coagulation is now thought to be beneficial for bacterial and viral infections. It prevents the spread of infection and promotes pathogen death and tissue repair. Overactivation, on the other hand, can lead to thrombosis, hemostatic substance depletion, and subsequent bleeding. 

Inherited Immunity 

The host immune system, like the coagulation system, responds quickly and locally to damaged human hosts and invading pathogens, minimising injury and aiding healing.

This is accomplished by promptly recognising potentially hazardous chemicals and mobilising cell, structural, and chemical mechanisms for effective inactivation, breakdown, and/or elimination.

Coagulation Factors

• Coagulation factor concentrates are drugs used to reduce bleeding in people with haemophilia.
• Haemophilia is a clinical disease characterised by a significant decrease in blood coagulation, resulting in significant blood loss with little damage.
• A genetic deficit in a coagulation factor, most often factor VIII, is the most prevalent cause.
• Coagulation factors are proteins found in the blood that help in bleeding control.
• Coagulation components in the body work together to form a clot.
• Clots protect the body against excessive blood loss.
• Treatment for haemophilia requires replacing the missing blood coagulation factor so that the blood can properly clot.
• Coagulation factor concentrates replace the blood clotting factor and improve blood clotting to avoid substantial blood loss.

How Do Coagulation Factors Work?

Coagulation drugs are used to treat considerable blood loss caused by the disorders listed below:

• Acquired haemophilia (haemophilia that develops over the course of a person’s life)
• Congenital haemophilia (haemophilia present from birth)
• Von Willebrand’s disease

This medication is used to treat and prevent bleeding in people who have low or no factor IX levels (due to haemophilia B or Christmas disease). Factor IX is a blood protein (clotting factor) that works with other clotting factors to help the blood clot and stop bleeding. People with low factor IX levels are more prone to bleeding for a longer period of time after such an injury/surgery or to bleed suddenly (often in the joints/muscle) for no obvious cause. This medication should not be taken to counteract the effects of “blood thinners” (such as warfarin). 

The bulk of this medication should not be used to treat other types of factor deficiencies (such as factors II, VII, VIII, and X) or factor problems (such as inhibitors to factor XIII). 

Conclusion

Coagulation (clotting) is the act of converting blood from a liquid to a gel, culminating in the development of a clot. It might result in hemostasis, or the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. Platelet activation, adhesion, and aggregation, as well as fibrin deposition and maturation, are all involved in coagulation.

Coagulation issues can result in bleeding (haemorrhage or bruising) or clotting that is hindered (thrombosis).