– A new anticoagulant to operate without risk
A team of researchers from the University has developed a new anticoagulant active ingredient and its antidote. It would allow surgery without risk of hemorrhage.
Published today at 5:32 p.m.
Red cells in a vein.
GETTY IMAGES
The discovery has yet to pass all standard clinical trials, but it is very promising for people with cardiovascular disease. The University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with that of Sydney (Australia), has developed a new type of anticoagulant whose action can be stopped.
Anticoagulant treatments are essential for the management of many pathologies, such as heart disease, stroke and venous thrombosis. These medications require regular monitoring of blood clotting. They pose a serious risk of bleeding in the event of an overdose and are responsible for 15% of emergency hospital visits due to their adverse effects.
Reduced risk of bleeding
“Our advance makes it possible to stop the activity of the anticoagulant quickly, an essential fact in surgery,” notes Professor Nicolas Winssinger, professor in the Department of Organic Chemistry of the Faculty of Sciences at UNIGE. Everyone remembers the injured grandmother whose wound took an hour to heal. Thanks to this new anticoagulant active ingredient, accompanied by an antidote which allows its effect to be quickly reversed, the risk of hemorrhage will be reduced.
The new active ingredient, presented in the journal “Nature Biotechnology”, consists of two molecules targeting distinct sites on thrombin, a protein whose action is responsible for blood clotting. After binding of thrombin, these two molecules combine to inhibit its activity, thus reducing its coagulating effect.
In injection form
The antidote intervenes by dissociating these two molecules, thus neutralizing the action of the active principle. “Currently, many surgical operations are not possible without an anticoagulant,” emphasizes Professor Winssinger. The coagulation time must be monitored continuously during the operation and this is not easy to manage.”
The antidote comes in the form of an injection and can be quickly administered. “Its effect is controllable, we can quickly go back in time, we have carried out tests on mice and the discovery is promising.” People with cardiovascular diseases often postpone operations because of the risk of hemorrhage. Placing a simple dental implant, for example, can be problematic.
Also useful against cancer
This scientific advance is also promising in the context of immunotherapy. The supramolecular concept of activation and deactivation of the active ingredient could prove very interesting for CAR-T therapies, those which use T lymphocytes of the immune system to treat cancers. Their use is associated with a risk of immune system runaway which can lead to the death of the patient.
“Rapidly deactivating the treatment using an accessible antidote could improve the safety and effectiveness of these therapies,” concludes Nicolas Winssinger, who specifies that the marketing of the new anticoagulant should not take place for five or ten years.
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Judith Monfrini is a journalist for the local section. With a legal background, she obtained her diploma from the Journalism and Media Training Center (CFJM) in 2015. She worked for more than ten years for the Médiaone group. (Radio Lac, One fm)More informations
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