Von Willebrand factor and von Willebrand disease

Von Willebrand disease (vWD) is an autosomally inherited bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency or abnormality of von Willebrand factor (vWF). vWF is a large multimeric glycoprotein that mediates platelet adhesion at the site of vessel injury. Also, it protects factor VIII from proteolytic degradation in the circulation. vWD has a prevalence of about 1% in the general population but less than 10…