Sunday, November 4, 2007

Research News: Blood-thinning drug shows promise, pitfalls

The News:
Blood-thinning drug shows promise, pitfalls
CNN.com updated 8:50 a.m. EST, Sun November 4, 2007
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- A new blood thinner proved better than Plavix, one of the world's top-selling drugs, at preventing heart problems after procedures to open clogged arteries, doctors reported Sunday. But the new drug also raised the risk of serious bleeding. People given the experimental drug, prasugrel, were nearly 20 percent less likely to suffer one of the problems in a combined measure -- heart attack, stroke or heart-related death -- than those given Plavix, a drug that millions of Americans take to prevent blood clots that cause these events.

The Research:
Read an editorial behind this story in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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