PhysioTru Review
Austrian scientist Karl Landsteiner earned a Nobel Prize for the PhysioTru Review discovery of the ABO blood group system in 1901. Inherited antigenic substances on the surface of the red blood cells allow a classification of the blood into different groups (blood type). Lawyers soon started using this in paternity suits police in forensic science and anthropologists in the study of different populations. The Japanese started believing that a persons blood type is predictive of their personality character and compatibility with others. Its major impact however was in preventing fatal reactions to blood transfusions.
If transfusion is given without proper typing and cross-matching naturally occurring antibodies in the recipients blood can bind to corresponding antigens on the transfused red blood cells resulting in an acute hemolytic transfusion reaction that can cause widespread intravascular blood clotting shock acute renal failure and death.
Another major health impact was understanding the patho-physiology behind the hemolytic disease of the newborn. This dangerous reaction occurs as the anti A and anti B antibodies produced in the O blood mother cross the placenta and enter the blood stream of her infant with type A or type B blood. However due to lower number of fetal antigens the reactions are usually less severe.
Recent reports have noticed an interesting connection of these blood types with cardiovascular disease. In a presentation at the Annual Scientific Meetings of the American Heart Association in November 2011 researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health reported that men and women in the AB blood group had a 26% higher risk of developing stroke when compared with those with type O blood. Women with type B had a 15% higher risk of stroke when compared with those with type O blood. They analyzed data from two major studies - the Nurses Health Study (NHS) which included 61973 women and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) which included 27808 men. The follow up was 26 years and 20 years.
