Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare disorder
that involves your blood’s tendency to clot. In this disease,
tiny clots form throughout your body. These tiny clots have two
major consequences. First, the tiny clots can block blood
vessels. This stops your blood from being able to reach your
organs. This can compromise the functioning of your vital
organs—such as the heart, brain and kidneys. Second, the tiny
clots can use up too many of your blood’s platelets. Your blood
might then be unable to form clots when it actually needs to.
For example, if you are injured, you may be unable to stop
bleeding. There is an inherited form of TTP that is transmitted
as an autosomal recessive trait. This means that both parents of
an affected individual must carry a copy of the defective gene.
The parents do not usually have symptoms of the disease. This
genetic form results from a mutation in the ADAMTS13 gene. This
gene plays a role in the production of an enzyme that causes
your blood’s ability to clot norm