Common anti-allergy drugs may treat deadly blood clots: study

Common anti-allergy medicines could prove to be an effective treatment for potentially fatal blood clots in the legs, a study has claimed.

The research by the University of Birmingham in the UK could lead to new treatments that prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that develops within a deep vein in the body, usually in the leg, and causes swelling, aching and difficulty walking.

It can be caused by prolonged periods of immobility, such as after surgery or during a long flight.

If the clot becomes dislodged it can travel to the lungs and block a blood vessel. This is known as a pulmonary embolism (PE). An estimated 30 per cent of PEs cause sudden death.

The team discovered that mice genetically depleted of mast cells, a type of immune cells, are protected from developing DVT.

The current treatments for DVT include anti-clotting drugs such as heparin and warfarin. These drugs are relatively effective but put patients at increased risk of bleeding.

Finish reading this article...

ᐧ

Comments

ICH GCP requires EC members to be independent of investigator and sponsor to avoid conflicts of interest

Can an Ethics Committee member e.g. layman/chairman or anyone in the committee participate in the trial as a subject? Vidya If an Ethics Committee member becomes a trial subject on a trial that he/she was involved in approving then there has been a major conflict of interest. The following situations need to be considered: ● IEC member reviews study without any prior knowledge of the study, votes, and then afterwards is approached by clinical research team to participate. Possibly this is OK but the member should no longer be part of the IEC that reviews that study. This will be difficult in practice, so therefore it is not advisable. ● IEC member already knows about the study and is voting in order to be able to participate. This is clearly not acceptable and made worse if there is additional financial incentive for the study (e.g. volunteer study). ICH GCP requires Ethics Committee members to be independent of the investigator and the sponsor to avoid confl...

Indian government outlines policies on drug pricing to favor poorer patients, and increase clinical trials

The Indian government is looking to review the existing drug price control measures in order to make medicines more affordable in the country, and at increasing the number of clinical trials taking place in the country, reports The Pharma Letter's India correspondent. In a parallel move, the Health Ministry is also preparing a framework for public private partnership to tackle the menace of non-communicable diseases in the country, In a move that could potentially result in affordable Medicare and health security moving to a larger section of the population, the government is considering a rash of policy measures in favor of poor patients. Talks are also on in government circles to abolish clinical trials on proven drugs that have been approved and marketed for at least two years in the European Union, United States, UK, Australia, Canada and Japan. A draft proposal in this regard has been prepared by the Health Ministry. If instituted, it would reduce the time taken to introduce n...

The polypill: Medicine's magic bullet

The capsule costs pennies, contains a simple cocktail of medicines, and halves the number of strokes and heart attacks. Doctors want to hand it out in the first mass medication for the middle-aged in Britain. So why are the big drug companies so uninterested? The magic bullet, containing five medicines in a single capsule, sharply reduced cholesterol and blood pressure levels and has the potential to "halve cardiovascular events in average middle-aged individuals", the researchers say. The finding is a major boost for a medication with huge potential against the worldwide epidemic of heart disease and stroke. Doctors say that, if further trials prove successful, all men aged over 50 and women aged over 60 should be offered the pill in what would be the first example of mass medication for the middle-aged in Britain. Yet no Western pharmaceutical company has shown interest in developing the so-called polypill because it does not promise big profits. It would sell for pennies b...

My Clinical Trials Diary

Search This Blog