HoG Funds New Researcher

Horizons in Hemophilia, May 2013

By Jeff Cornett, RN, MSN, Director of Training, Research, and Advocacy
In April, Hemophilia of Georgia announced its latest recipient of a Hemophilia Clinical Scientist Research Grant.  Dr. Trinh Nguyen of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston will receive up to five years of funding to continue her research and professional development.  Her current area of research is on proper dosing of factor VIII in obese/overweight people with hemophilia A.

Dr. Nguyen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics.  She received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Houston and her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the University of North Texas.  The Hemophilia of Georgia grant is the first clinical research project in hemophilia in which she will be the lead investigator.

Research into the proper dosage of factor concentrate can be very beneficial.  Currently, dosage of factor is calculated using the patient’s actual weight.  A typical knee bleed in a man weighing 180 pounds might call for treatment with 1637 units of factor concentrate.  If that same man is 100 pounds overweight, i.e., weighs 280 pounds, the formula calls for him to receive 2546 units of factor for the same bleed.  Not only is that a large amount of factor to infuse, the cost is almost $1,000 more.

Dr. Nguyen will be testing obese/overweight men with severe hemophilia A to see if they can be given a dosage of factor based on their ideal body weight instead of their actual weight.  If so, it will be easier for patients and will save money.  With nearly three-quarters of American men overweight and almost one third classified as obese, her research could benefit many men with hemophilia.