Antikoagulantien

Anticoagulant drugs Eduardo Ramacciotti and Jawed Fareed Anticoagulant drugs are used to prevent and treat venous and arterial thrombosis—cardiovascular diseases that combined are the leading cause of death in the world. Heparin, the first clinically... More

Anticoagulant drugs Eduardo Ramacciotti and Jawed Fareed Anticoagulant drugs are used to prevent and treat venous and arterial thrombosis—cardiovascular diseases that combined are the leading cause of death in the world. Heparin, the first clinically available anticoagulant drug, was serendipitously discovered by a medical student 100 years ago, and is still widely used. Other parenteral anticoagulants developed after the discovery of heparin, such as LMWHs and synthetic pentasaccharides, are also important agents in the management of thrombosis. Warfarin, the first oral anticoagulant, is a vitamin K antagonist that was initially developed as a rat poison in the 1950s. Owing to drawbacks of warfarin (such as risk of bleeding, drug–drug interactions, need for periodic monitoring, and slow onset of action), NOACs were developed, and their use is increasing. In 2010, dabigatran, a direct thrombin inhibitor, was the first NOAC approved for clinical use in the USA. Direct factor Xa inhibito Less