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Vapor Treated |
A purification process useful for the sterilization of plasma-derived products such as blood coagulation factors and intravenous immune globulins. The plasma is treated with vapor to kill viruses.
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Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease |
A variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). Both are diseases that affect the central nervous system. vCJD is a spongiform encephalopathy, meaning that as the disease progresses, it forms holes in the brain. It results in rapid and progressive loss of muscle control, dementia, memory loss, hallucinations, speech impairments, and difficulty walking and talking. There is no cure for vCJD, and it is always fatal, usually within a year of onset. vCJD is believed to be caused by a type or prion, a protienaceous infectious particle that is responsible for several diseases of the central nervous system. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) is caused by a prion similar to that of CJD, and it has related symptoms, but affects a much younger population, with an average age of onset of 50 years of age. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, is thought to be caused by a prion similar to that of vCJD and CJD. Causes of vCJD have been linked to contaminated cow meat, but no connection has been found between mad cow disease and CJD.
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Varicella Zoster Virus (Vzv) |
A virus in the herpes family that causes chicken pox during childhood and may reactivate later in life to cause shingles in immunosurpressed individuals. |
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von Willebrand's Disease (vWD) |
A congenital bleeding disorder in women which passes genetically as an autosomal recessive trait. It is caused by deficient or defective von Willebrand factor (Factor III), a blood protein that controls platelet activity. The bleeding tendency manifests at an early age. Easy bruising, bleeding in the intestinal tract during surgery, and excess loss of blood during menstruation are common. It is the most common form of bleeding disorder. It is named for the Finnish physician Erik von Willebrand who discovered it. It is also called angiohemophilia and vascular hemophilia. |
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