Canadian Hemophilia Society
Canadian Hemophilia Society
Canadian Hemophilia Society
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Optimism reigned at<br />
WFH Congress 2012<br />
David Pouliot, Montreal, Quebec<br />
The World Federation of <strong>Hemophilia</strong> (WFH) has once again pulled off an impressive feat, bringing together<br />
for its International Congress not only experts in diverse medical fields and pharmaceutical companies but<br />
patients as well. It is my understanding that it is very rare for these three groups, so different from one<br />
another, to work together hand in hand as we do. The international hemophilia community seems to be filled<br />
with extremely warm and intelligent people.<br />
Never have I left a congress feeling so optimistic. Already in<br />
January of this year, we knew that real breakthroughs had been<br />
made in England by Dr. Edward Tuddenham and his team towards<br />
a definitive cure for hemophilia B. At the congress, Dr. Tuddenham<br />
announced his latest results: after six months, the six patients<br />
treated with his innovative gene therapy were maintaining a<br />
factor IX level of 1 to 6% (moderate hemophilia), whereas prior<br />
to the treatment all had<br />
severe hemophilia (factor IX<br />
level