In 1926, Erik von Willebrand published an article on a bleeding disorder that he had first observed in some members of a family from Föglö in the Åland islands [1]. The index case was a 5-year old girl, Hjördis S., who had several episodes of

life-threatening bleedings from the nose and lips and following tooth extractions. She also had an ankle bleed. At the age of 14 years, she bled to death during her fourth menstrual period. Erik von Willebrand subsequently studied 66 family members and found that 23 of them had symptoms of the same type as those of Hjördis. The purpose of this meeting held between 26 and 28 September 2012 in the Åland islands was educational, there were a number of younger delegates present in the audience, and there was an opportunity to discuss issues in von Willebrand disease (VWD) management with selleck compound some of the most prominent people in the field, several of whom have been teachers in Malmö, Sweden, Selleck Navitoclax where much of the pioneering work in the field of VWD was undertaken. The first special meeting

of international specialists in the field of VWD was held in the Åland islands in 1998 and a summary was published in 1999 [2]. The second meeting was held in 2010 and a report of the meeting was published in 2012 [3]. This third meeting covered the structure and function of von Willebrand factor (VWF); type 1 VWD, the most common form of the disease; a lifespan of pharmacokinetics in VWD; inhibitors in VWD patients; and special challenges in understanding

and treating the female VWD patient. The first session looked at the structure and function of VWF. VWF is a glycoprotein present in the blood that is needed for haemostasis. In VWD it is deficient or defective. Although much is known about VWF, this session sought to further increase our knowledge of this protein. Haemostasis is a pivotal process and requires the combined action of blood platelets, vascular- and plasma factors, with the oligomeric glycoprotein VWF having a key role. At high-shear flow conditions, VWF mediates click here platelet adhesion via the glycoprotein (GP)Ib-V-IX complex, in particular by depositing on collagen fibres. Collagen-bound VWF thus plays a critical role in platelet tethering, translocation, and stable adhesion at arterial flow conditions [4, 5]. In addition, VWF is implicated in platelet GPIb-dependent pro-coagulant activity and fibrin formation [6], and it protects factor VIII from rapid proteolytic inactivation [7]. Large VWF multimers, which are secreted from endothelial cells, are cleaved into smaller forms by the metalloproteinase ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type 1 motifs 13).