( Volunteers at the Jack and Linda Gill H...)UK is first to administer new anti-clotting technology

Volunteers at the Jack and Linda Gill Heart Institute at the University of Kentucky were the first ever to receive a new anti-clotting therapy. The drug and its antidote are being developed for their effectiveness in preventing blood clots while at the same time providing physicians the ability to rapidly reverse the effects of the blood thinner to help safeguard patients against uncontrolled bleeding.

More than 12 million patients are prescribed so-called "blood thinners" each year to prevent the formation of clots, which can block blood vessels, causing heart attacks, strokes and other debilitating or life-threatening conditions. Blood thinners, or antithrombotics, pose a risk of bleeding, particularly during surgery. The ability to stop the anti-clotting effects quickly could help protect patients from uncontrolled bleeding.

The Gill Heart Institute is one of two sites participating in the Phase 1 trial and is the first site to use the anti-clotting drug and its antidote.

This clinical trial will examine the drug's safety and tolerability in healthy volunteers as well as the antidote's ability to quickly reverse its effects. Although other new antithrombotics are undergoing testing in the U.S., this drug is believed to be the first of its kind.

"This class of drugs is a very promising technology that allows for the development of 'designer' drugs and their antidotes simultaneously," said Dr. Steven R. Steinhubl, the study's principal investigator at UK and director of cardiovascular education and clinical research at the Gill Heart Institute and a UK College of Medicine associate professor of cardiology. "It could have far-reaching implications."

"The research capacity of the cardiology division at UK has skyrocketed in the last year. Millions of dollars in research projects are under way, and we have attracted world-recognized leaders in drug discovery and development, such as Dr. Steinhubl. Leaders of technology and pharm
'"/>

Source:University of Kentucky

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. A genes first kiss sets off that affair known as puberty
2. Love at first smell
3. Worlds largest rainforest drying experiment completes first phase
4. PCRM develops worlds first cruelty-free insulin assay
5. Expression Project for Oncology (expO) completes first phase of standardized gene expression analyses
6. World-first Living Donor Islet Cell Transplant A Success; Procedure Offers Promise For Diabetics
7. DuPonts first biologically derived polymer receives global recognition
8. Anti cancer virotherapy well tolerated in first human administration, research finds
9. Unlike other mammals, newborn dolphins and orcas stay active 24/7 during first months of development
10. The first impact factor for PLoS Biology ?13.9
11. Moffitt-USF head toward first human trials of anti-cancer drug that targets protein AKT