- While anticoagulants are important for preventing dangerous blood clots, they increase the risk of excessive bleeding.
- Future blood thinners may no longer increase the risk of bleeding if further studies confirm the potential of a new compound.
- Rather than target all clotting pathways to prevent thrombosis, the new compound strategically targets just one, so clotting continues but without a bleeding risk or toxicity.
Anticoagulants, or blood thinners, break down and prevent blood clots, semi-solid clumps of blood cells, and other substances that can block blood flow. However, anticoagulants can do their job too well, preventing clotting altogether and resulting in excessive external or internal bleeding.
A new study from researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Michigan introduces a new compound, MPI 8, that may one day make anticoagulants much safer.
Normally, blood clots form at the site of an internal or external injury, stop bleeding and allow the body to begin to heal. When internal clots break free, they can plug the bloodstream or block blood flow in critical areas of the body such as the brain, heart, and lungs. The result can be a stroke, pulmonary embolism, or heart attack.
The study is published in
Physicians prescribe anticoagulants to people with
“Current anticoagulants generally inhibit all the pathways of forming blood clots and ultimately can cause bleeding,” said Dr. Adi Iyer, who was not involved in the study.
The problem is, he explained, “That could include things like bleeding ulcers, bleeding in the stomach, bleeding in the bone and joints, or even after minor traumas or injuries, accelerated bruising anywhere from the skin and soft tissue to even…
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