US Pharm. 2012;37(1):40.
A study led by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has found a molecular pathway that leads to abnormal blood clotting. The researchers were able to turn off the pathway by using a popular class of cholesterol-lowering drugs, statins. Those with high cholesterol are at risk for heart attack and stroke because atherosclerotic plaques within their arteries can rupture, triggering the formation of a blood clot called an occlusive thrombus that cuts off the blood supply to their heart or brain.
The research was performed using humans, monkeys, and mice with highly elevated blood lipid levels. It indicated that elevated levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein induce a molecule called “tissue factor” that triggers clotting. The study appears online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
