Using Math to Understand Bleeding in Hemophilia Patients

Blood clotting is a complex system that involves intertwined biochemical and biophysical processes that occur under flow. Mathematical modeling is a powerful tool that can be used to investigate the clotting system and make predictions about its responses to deficiencies and therapeutic strategies. The study presented in this webinar was motivated by the observed variability in bleeding frequency and severity within clinical categories - severe, moderate, mild - of hemophilia A, where factor levels alone are poor predictors of bleeding risk. We aimed to use mathematics to answer the question: in cases of hemophilia A with severe deficiency and mild bleeding, what is compensating for the deficient clotting protein? A mathematical model was used to create an enormous synthetic patient data set and the data set was statistically analyzed to search for clues and answer our question. Mathematical and experimental approaches were used together to identify potential modifiers of bleeding in hemophilia A.