New drug promises to prevent DVTs and potentially help overcome heart attack and stroke

LONG-haul flyers may soon put the fears of DVT behind them, with a new drug promising to protect travellers from blood clots and potentially also save heart attack and stroke patients.

THE ticking time bomb of deep vein thrombosis on long-haul flights may have been ­disarmed by Melbourne ­scientists.

Researchers from Melbourne’s Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute have developed a new drug with the potential to prevent clots not only for travellers, but also those at risk of, or during, a heart attack or stroke.

In partnership with Harvard University, the Melbourne researchers have shown blood clots can be avoided by using small doses of a peptide that can cling to high-risk areas, preventing dangerous damage.

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A new drug taken before you fly could reduce the risk of getting a deep vein thrombosis.

Baker Institute researcher Prof Xiaowei Wang said the drug could be given in small doses to prevent clots from forming, potentially making it safer than current blood-­thinning and clot-busting medications which carry a danger of bleeding.

“We have the potential to not only treat people who are having heart attack, stroke or deep view thrombosis, but also to protect the patients who are at a very high risk of these events before they occur,” Prof Wang said.

“You could take it before you fly and hopefully, it re­duces your risk of getting a deep vein thrombosis.”

An Australian dies every 12 minutes from cardiovascular disease, with more than 480,000 hospitalised annually.

An X-ray showing the pulmonary artery with large load embolic clot. Picture: Matthew White

Current blood-thinning drugs can prevent thrombosis or blood clots, which cause one in four deaths around the world through events such as heart attacks and strokes.

But serious side effects of bleeding mean they are used cautiously as they can be more dangerous than the risk of clotting for many people.

The Baker and Harvard drug has been genetically engineered to be attracted to platelets, which form at the site of a clot, without any effect on the rest of a person’s blood.

Results of a preclinical trial published in the journal of Clinical Investigation show the antibodies clung to high-risk areas and stopped clots forming, raising hopes they could become a safe preventive medication against DVTs.

“Hopefully, with this targeting approach — whereby you can actually home the drug to the specific area where the blood clot is developing — you have a higher chance of using them in patients without worrying about bleeding, so more patients can have them,” Prof Wang said.

The Baker-Harvard partnership is seeking funding to con­tinue development through clinical trials.

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