Anticoagulant News and Research

RSS

Thalidomide may be a potent anti-cancer treatment

When people hear "thalidomide," many think "birth defects," however, evidence has come to light that this once-banned drug can be used as a potent anti-cancer treatment.

20 Jun 2005

Genetic variation alters response to anti-clotting drug warfarin

Millions of people take the anticoagulant drug warfarin to prevent harmful clotting after a heart attack, stroke, or major surgery. But the proper dose of warfarin can vary greatly and can be hard to predict.

1 Jun 2005

Patients at high risk of stroke may need to continue Warfarin therapy after heart rhythm is controlled

Treatment with warfarin, a medication that prevents blood clotting, may reduce the risk of stroke by more than two-thirds in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition which places them at high risk of stroke, according to a study in the May 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 May 2005

Patients who have a blood clot are at high risk of having another one, and men have more than twice the risk as women

While estimates of the overall risk of a thrombotic (blood clot) event recurrence vary, reports on contributing factors are contradictory, according to background information in the article. Knowledge of the risk of a thrombotic event recurrence and its determinants is relevant for clinical policy regarding screening for thrombophilia (increased risk for blood clot), duration of anticoagulant treatment, and treatment strategies in circumstances of increased risk.

17 May 2005

Drinking wine or beer has same result: higher blood pressure

Whether the drink of choice is a frosty beer or a full-bodied red wine, the effect is the same – higher blood pressure, according to research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Apr 2005

Newer imaging technologies may lead to over treatment

Newer imaging technologies allow physicians to visualize more of the arteries in the lungs, including detecting small blood clots not previously seen, but seeing more may have little impact on the patient’s outcome, a new study suggests.

4 Apr 2005

Aspirin safer than Warfarin for treating blocked arteries

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have shown for the first time that aspirin works as well as warfarin in reducing blood clotting. Until now doctors have lacked good evidence for choosing one therapy over the other.

30 Mar 2005

Doctors may in future be able to prevent many cases of deep-vein thrombosis

Doctors may in future be able to prevent many cases of deep-vein thrombosis, commonly referred to as DVT, a disease of the circulation that causes potentially fatal blood clots. It occurs most often in people who have not been able to exercise normally.

9 Mar 2005

Patients with cancer have a 7-fold increased risk for blood clots in the legs or lungs

Studies that identify patients at highest risk of thrombosis are scarce, according to background information in the article. It is unclear what risks are for various types and stages of cancer.

9 Feb 2005

Ximelagatran effective for preventing blood clots and stroke

A medication that could simplify anticoagulation therapy, ximelagatran, was found to be as effective as other common therapies for preventing stroke and recurrent blood clots

9 Feb 2005

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients receive less aggressive attention than those with stroke

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients receive less aggressive diagnostic testing, treatment and education compared to stroke patients, which is a missed opportunity to prevent permanent disability or death, researchers reported at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2005.

3 Feb 2005

Psychiatric illness drugs may protect the brain cells that die in people with Huntington's disease

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that drugs commonly used to treat psychiatric illnesses and blood disorders in humans may protect the brain cells that die in people with Huntington's disease, possibly delaying the onset and slowing the progression of the disease.

31 Jan 2005

Drug reviparin reduces the risk of death after heart attack

The drug reviparin (a low molecular weight heparin anticoagulant), when administered to patients with a heart attack, is effective in reducing the risk of death and the risk of a subsequent heart attack, according to a study in the January 26 issue of JAMA.

26 Jan 2005

Warfarin combined with NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors increased risk of upper gastrointentinal hemorrhage

Patients taking warfarin at the same time as selective COX-2 inhibitors or nonselective NSAIDs have an increased risk of hospitalization for upper gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage, according to Canadian researchers analyzing health care databases.

24 Jan 2005

New insight into anticoagulation therapies

Anticoagulation therapies, or treatments that reduce the amount of clotting factors in the blood, are quite common and used for a variety of reasons.

6 Dec 2004

Novel mutagenesis screen used to identify genetic suppressors of thrombosis

Researchers using a novel sensitized ENU (N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea, a carcinogen-induced animal tumor model established to grow malignant and benign tumors) mutagenesis (induction of mutation) screen in laboratory mice have developed a promising approach to genetic screening that can increase the likelihood of identifying dominant suppressors of thrombosis.

6 Dec 2004

Israeli developed fruit called pomelit, lowers blood cholesterol

People who eat the Israeli-developed fruit known in Hebrew as pomelit (a cross between a grapefruit and a pomelo) or drink its juice regularly will be able to lower their blood cholesterol and increase their blood antioxidant activity, thus improving their chances of preventing blocked heart arteries and heart attacks, says a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

30 Nov 2004

Researchers have developed a novel drug-antidote pair

In a discovery that could give physicians more control over the actions of medications, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have developed a novel drug pair – a potent anti-coagulant with a matched "antidote."

18 Oct 2004

Aspirin might well be considered the top utility player in the medicine cabinet

This cheap over-the-counter drug can be used not only for fever, pain and arthritis, but to prevent heart attack, stroke or angina. It also may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Yet aspirin also has side effects worth considering, and its very accessibility may hamper its use.

8 Oct 2004

Guidelines introduce novel therapies for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis

New antithrombotic guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) introduce novel therapies for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis and, for the first time, offer specific recommendations for long-distance travelers.

14 Sep 2004