Successful aortic aneurysm repair in a woman with severe von Willebrand (type 3) disease.

von Willebrand disease type 3 (VWD3) is a rare but the most severe form of von Willebrand disease; it is due to almost complete lack of von Willebrand factor activity (VWF:RCo). It is inherited as autosomal recessive trait; whilst heterozygote carriers have mild, or no symptoms, patients with VWD3 show severe bleeding symptoms. In the laboratory, this is characterised by undetectable VWF:Ag, VWF:RCo, and reduced levels of factor VIII < 0.

Inherited and acquired risk factors for venous thromboembolic disease among women taking tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer.

Purpose: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is of particular concern in women receiving tamoxifen in a chemopreventive setting. We investigate the association between acquired and inherited risk factors for VTE in the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study (IBIS-I) trial of tamoxifen prophylaxis for women at increased risk of breast cancer.

Methods: We used a nested case-control study design to investigate the role of tamoxifen and acquired risk factors in the risk of developing a VTE.