July 05, 2012

Blood clots dissolved by new approach

Researchers have developed a new drug delivery system that sends life-saving drugs directly to obstructed blood vessels, dissolving blood clots before they cause serious damage or death.

This new approach uses only a fraction of the drug dose normally needed and so lessens the bleeding side effects that currently limit use of clot-busting drugs.

Professor Peter Weissberg, our Medical Director, said:  “This is a potentially important advance that needs further evaluation in patients.

“When a blood clot forms inside an artery, it’s absolutely essential to restore blood flow as quickly as possible.  In heart attacks this is usually achieved mechanically by inserting a stent into the blocked coronary artery.  But clots can also occur in arteries to other organs such as the brain, which can cause a stroke. In these cases a clot-busting drug is injected, but the high doses can cause potentially life-threatening bleeding.

“This new technology releases a small dose of the drug where it’s needed and may lead to more effective clot removal with less risk of bleeding.”

This study was published online in the journal Science.