New blood thinner without bleeding risk: Research

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ISLAMABAD, August 13 (online): Researchers have designed a new blood-thinning compound that can prevent blood clots without a significant risk of bleeding, which is a common side effect of existing blood-thinners.

A person may develop a thrombus (blood clot) for a variety of reasons. Some blood clots, such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is in a deep vein, can be life threatening.

A thrombosis occurring in the coronary artery can interrupt blood flow to the heart, resulting in a heart attack.

In situations such as this, doctors must administer rapid treatment to resolve the blood clot and save a person’s life.

Blood-thinning agents, or anticoagulants, such as heparin, help the body break down clots in the blood and prevent additional clots from forming.

However, anticoagulant agents prevent the enzymes that help stop bleeding from working. This can lead to a significant risk of bleeding, which can be life threatening.

In a new study, researchers from describe a new type of blood thinner that resolves thrombosis, without a risk of major bleeds.

The new blood thinner works by inhibiting coagulation factor XII (FXII), which kicks off the blood-clotting process.

Scientists know that targeting this molecule is safe because humans that naturally lack FXII are at less risk of thrombosis but do not bleed more than normal. Studies in micewithout FXII also show this to be accurate, and other studies in rats, rabbits, and primates also confirm the evidence.

Although this study is not the first to successfully create an inhibitor of FXII, doctors have not been able to use previous compounds because they do not have sufficient potency or selectivity.

In this study, the researchers made some small but significant changes to a previously designed inhibitor  called FXII618 to make it a viable treatment option.

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