Coagulation

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - You've seen all of the warnings about blood clots forming on long plane trips if you sit still, but a new study suggests that such inactivity may not actually increase the risk of clots. On the other hand, the findings suggest that keeping your whole body, or a single limb, immobile due to paralysis or injuries could put you at risk of blood clots that may spread to the lungs and cause serious harm or death. Dr. Jeffrey Kline, from the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, and co-authors studied 7940 emergency department patients who were evaluated for ... Read Full Story

Date Published: Monday, August 17th, 2009 Some birth control pills, including the popular Yaz and Yasmin , carry a higher risk of blood clots compared with some others, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal. According to The Globe and Mail, the study was led by Frits Rosendaal of the department of clinical epidemiology at Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Over 1,500 women who suffered blood clots in their legs or their lungs while taking oral contraceptives were compared with more than 1,700 women of similar backgrounds who did not suffer blood clots. The researchers found that oral ... Read Full Story

BACKGROUND: Trauma patients are at risk of developing an acute coagulopathy of trauma (ACT) related to tissue injury, shock, and hemodilution. ACT is incompletely understood, but is similar to disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and is associated with poor outcome. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Thrombin generation assays were used to evaluate plasma hemostasis in 42 trauma patients, 25 normal subjects, and 45 patients on warfarin and in laboratory-prepared factor reduced plasma. RESULTS: Prolonged prothrombin time (PT), more than 18 seconds, or an international normalized ratio of greater than 1.5 was present in 15 trauma patients indicating possible ACT. Native thrombin generation (no activator added, contact ... Read Full Story

by Dr Brazos Minshew, TriVita Chief Science Office Over 300,000 people in North America die each year from stroke. Another 700,000 die each year from heart attack. The most common type of both stroke and heart attack is ischemic disease, caused by a blood clot. Damage occurs when the blood clot reduces – and then totally blocks – circulation in an artery. The tissue nourished by that artery begins to die almost immediately. The nature of blood clots Blood clots are a miracle when they occur in the right place at the right time. If a blood vessel is injured it sends out chemical ... Read Full Story

THROMBIN (activated Factor II [IIa]) is a coagulation protein that has many effects in the coagulation cascade. It is a serine protease (EC 3.4.21.5) that converts soluble fibrinogen into insoluble strands of fibrin, as well as catalyzing many other coagulation-related reactions. Activation of prothrombin is crucial in physiological and pathological coagulation. Various rare diseases involving prothrombin have been described (e.g., hypoprothrombinemia). Anti-thrombin antibodies in autoimmune disease may be a factor in the formation of the lupus anticoagulant also known as ( antiphospholipid syndrome ). In addition to its activity in the coagulation cascades, thrombin also promotes platelet activation, via activation of protease-activated receptors on ... Read Full Story