For the first time, scientists at the [b]University of North Carolina School of Medicine[/b] have shown that eliminating the enzyme factor XIII reduces the number of red blood cells trapped in a clot, resulting in a 50% reduction in the size of the clot. [s]Health Canal[/s] reports that the finding has major implications for people at high risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). ‘If we can develop a treatment that exploits this discovery to reduce the size of blood clots, it would represent a whole new approach to treating thrombosis that’s different from anything else on the market,’ said Alisa Wolberg, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and senior author. Unlike existing drugs that reduce the formation of fibrin, a drug that reduces factor XIII could potentially cut the body’s ability to produce large, dangerous clots without sacrificing the ability to produce small, beneficial clots.
[link url=http://www.healthcanal.com/blood-heart-circulation/52689-unc-researchers-find-new-way-to-prevent-dangerous-blood-clots.html]Full Health Canal report[/link]
[link url=http://www.jci.org/articles/view/75386]Journal of Clinical Investigation full study[/link]