Blood Clot News and Research

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A Blood Clot is a mass of blood that forms when blood platelets, proteins, and cells stick together. When a blood clot is attached to the wall of a blood vessel, it is called a thrombus. When it moves through the bloodstream and blocks the flow of blood in another part of the body, it is called an embolus.

North American Menopause Society releases guidelines saying HRT beneficial for younger women

The North American Menopause Society on Thursday released a revised position statement that said the benefits of short-term hormone replacement therapy for treatment of menopausal women likely outweigh the risks for younger women, the Wall Street Journal reports.

28 Jan 2007

A plasminogen-activating protease specifically controls the development of primary pneumonic plague

The deadly attack of the bacterium that causes pneumonic plague is significantly slowed when it can't make use of a key protein, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report in Science.

28 Jan 2007

Biomimetic amplification of nanoparticle homing to tumors

A collaborative, multidisciplinary team of researchers has created nanoparticles that act much like a developing clot to target tumors.

16 Jan 2007

Fibrinogen molecule structure acts as a molecular spring

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences have shown that a well-known protein structure acts as a molecular spring, explaining one way that clots may stretch and bend under such physical stresses as blood flow.

14 Jan 2007

New oral contraceptive not such a bitter pill

A company in the United States has come up with the first chewable birth control tablet.

11 Dec 2006

Drug-coated heart stents to carry a warning

An advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. has recommended that the drug-coated stents used in patients with cardiovascular disease should carry a warning.

11 Dec 2006

FDA advisory panel on drug-eluting stents to include physicians with industry ties

FDA will waive rules that prohibit advisory panel members from having financial ties to companies whose products are being reviewed to allow six physicians with ties to Johnson & Johnson and other heart device manufacturers to serve on a panel examining the possible health risks of drug-eluting stents, Bloomberg/South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

5 Dec 2006

Drug coated heart stents more likely to cause blood clots

A review and analysis of studies on drug-coated heart devices known as stents, has found that patients with them are four to five times more likely to get blood clots when compared to the older bare-metal variety.

4 Dec 2006

Why COX-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx can cause heart attacks and strokes

COX-2 inhibitors are primarily used to treat pain in conditions such as arthritis. They work by blocking the COX-2 enzyme, which is expressed at sites of inflammation and underlies the production of hormones called prostaglandins which swell the joints and cause the feeling of pain.

2 Dec 2006

A male contraceptive pill - but will they take it?

British scientists say a male contraceptive pill could be on the market within five years.

28 Nov 2006

British reserve and stoicism could be a killer

According to a survey by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), 40% of Brits would not make 999 their first call if they suspected they were having a heart attack, and another 64%, say they would call someone other than 999 first if they were experiencing the main symptom of a heart attack, chest pains.

20 Nov 2006

Army docs use of dangerous drug labelled irresponsible and inappropriate

American soldiers critically wounded in Iraq are being treated with a potent, experimental, blood-coagulating drug despite evidence it can cause clots in the lungs, heart and brain, leading to strokes, heart attacks and death.

20 Nov 2006

A chocolate or two a day, just what the doctor ordered!

A recent study has news that chocolate lovers will be overjoyed to hear, it seems that chocolate is good for the heart!

16 Nov 2006

Novel drug boosts platelets in ITP

Attacking a platelet-depleting autoimmune disease in a whole new way, an experimental drug is helping patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) once again produce healthy amounts of platelets -- with no major side effects.

14 Nov 2006

Safety of t-PA clot-busting therapy questioned

Across the world, emergency medical teams often administer a powerful clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) to help patients stricken by heart attack.

13 Nov 2006

Confusion abounds on how to treat the menopause

The results in 2002 of a large U.S. study on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in many respects left women confused and alarmed about the treatment for the menopause.

25 Oct 2006

A couple of drinks a day protects men from heart attacks

Researchers in the U.S. say doctors should not discourage men in good health from having a drink or two each day as a moderate intake of alcohol is as beneficial to healthy men as to those at risk of heart attack.

25 Oct 2006

Health officials announce physician quiz campaign to help reduce medical errors

HHS and other health officials on Monday announced a new campaign designed to limit surgical complications by encouraging patients to quiz their doctors about medical procedures, CQ HealthBeat reports.

24 Oct 2006

Biomarkers in blood indicate likelihood of having another stroke

People who have just suffered their first ischemic stroke, a blood clot in the brain, often have elevated inflammatory biomarkers in their blood that indicate their likelihood of having another stroke or an increased risk of dying, according to Columbia University Medical Center researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

24 Oct 2006

Sticking to clinical guidelines decreases deep vein thrombosis in elderly

A multifaceted intervention designed to increase adherence with clinical guidelines for preventing deep-vein blood clots may decrease the rate of such blood clots among elderly patients, according to a report in the October 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Oct 2006