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MU researchers are participating
in clinical trials to test a new stroke prevention drug
based on the composition of cobra venom. Photo by Chuck
Dresner, Saint Louis Zoo
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Pick
Your Poison
for Stroke Prevention
By Christian Basi
Within a year, stroke patients could have
a unique choice in blood thinning medication. Researchers at the
University of Missouri-Columbia participated in human clinical
trials with more than 7,000 patients around the world to test
a new drug, based on the composition of cobra venom, for stroke
prevention. The drug requires less follow-up with a patient and
could be ready for the general public in the coming months.
The new drug, ximelagatran (zí ma
lég a tran), is similar to warfarin, a common blood thinner
based on the composition of rat poison, but with less bleeding
and requiring less maintenance, said Greg Flaker, the Brent M.
Parker professor of medicine at MU’s School
of Medicine. Flaker, along with Kathy Belew, a registered
nurse, were a part of the last two phases of the study for the
Canada/United States region. Flaker was on the steering committee
for one phase of the study.
“The older blood thinning medications
require constant follow-up, a lot of blood tests and have many
dietary requirements for their patients,” Flaker said. “These
complications result in many people not maintaining their medication
and many stopping the medication completely. This new drug will
eliminate a lot of those problems.”
Currently warfarin restricts the patient
from drinking and eating certain foods, such as many of the vegetables
found in salads. Warfarin patients also must consult a doctor
when taking other drugs; antibiotics can cause serious harm in
some cases. To find an alternative medicine, researchers looked
to the cobra.
Often thought to deliver a neurotoxin in
its venom, researchers discovered that the snake was sending a
massive amount of blood thinner into its victim instead. Extracting
the venom, researchers were able to produce the blood thinning
components synthetically and have been studying the drug and possible
side effects for many years. Flaker expects the drug to be on
the market within the next year.
“The patients involved in the
clinical trials are the true heroes in all of this,” Flaker
said. “Without their involvement in studies such as this,
it would be impossible to find these new medicines.”
According to the American
Stroke Association, about 700,000 people experience a new
or recurrent stroke each year. Nearly 4.7 million stroke survivors
are alive today. Strokes cost the United States between $30 and
40 billion each year.
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Copyright © 2007 — Curators of the University of Missouri
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Last Update:
March 12, 2007
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