New treatment for Thrombosis

Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel (due to an atheroma that may have broken through arterial walls or due to injury in the blood vessel leading to platelets and fibrin forming a blood clot to prevent blood loss). It can lead to reduced blood supply to muscles and tissues, resulting in oxygen deprivation and accumulation of metabolic products (such as lactic acid). Doctors have know that high levels of blood cholesterol (and low density lipoproteins that cause build up of fatty deposits in tissues including blood vessels) can cause various coronary heart diseases and thus a reduction in intake of cholesterol can help reduce the risk of these diseases.

This knowledge led to the production of a drug that helps control the protein LXR in our bodies which regulates cholesterol. However, recent research from scientists at the University of Reading have found a beakthrough in understanding how to control blood clotting which could save thousands of lives. In the find, it was discovered that this protein not only helps to regulate cholesterol levels, but also plays a role in inhibiting the function of platelets, that helps to reduce blood clotting. Therefore drugs that target LXR may be helping to reduce cardiovascular diseases by preventing thrombosis and controlling cholesterol levels.

This exciting new find helps to show that drugs which lower cholesterol through targeting LXR protein can also prevent harmful blood clotting, helping to open a new path towards effective treatments for people at risk of such diseases.