635 CORRELATION BETWEEN FACTOR VIII ANTIGEN (VIII ag) AND VON WILLEBRAND'S DISEASE ANTIGEN II (vWagll) IN NORMAL INDIVIDUALS AND PERSONS WITH VON WILLEBRAND'S DISEASE (Vwd)

Abstract

Classical vWD has been characterized by a deficiency of VIIIag as well as a new antigen-vWagII characterized by Montgomery and Zimmerman (Plenary Session, Am Soc Hematol, 1977). Patients with severe vWD have undetectible VIIIag and vWagII. This report concerns the correlation between VIIIag and vWagII in 38 normal individuals, 9 patients with severe vWD, and 16 patients with moderate vWD. VIIIag and vWagII concentrations were determined by quantitative immunoelectrophoresis using monospecific rabbit antibody to purified factor VIII and vWagII. Thus, individuals with vWD have significantly decreased vWagII as well as VIIIag although the degree of decreased vWagII is significantly different from the degree of decreased VIIIag. In normal individuals there is a significant (p<.001) linear correlation between vWagII and VIIIag with a correlation coefficient of 0.65. Although individuals with severe vWD have no detectible vWagII or VIIIag, individuals with moderate vWD have no correlation between their vWagII and VIIIag levels.