What if this drug was so cheap to make, had been around for fifty years or more, is now being used in many military hospitals, has been placed on the WHO List of Essential Medicines, yet was only used on 3% of eligible trauma patints in British hospitals?
Would you want it used more often if it had the potential to save 140,000 lives a year? And that’s only in Britain.
Tranexamic acid is old so no drug company has a patent on it. It is also cheap to make being a derivative of the amino acid Lysine. So no chance for a drug company to make buckets of money by making it and promoting its use.
So how do you as a researcher promote it’s use? I give you “Tranman”
The first published report of abnormally increased bleeding time associated with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) treatment was published in 1990, noting that these antidepressants also have the pharmacological property of diminishing granular storage of serotonin in platelets, suggesting a basis for a drug-induced defect in haemostasis.
Other early reports also provided important signals in the form of case reports of abnormal bleeding and bruising; a report of a fatal intracranial haemorrhage associated with an SSRI; and a case where a patient developed a demonstrable and reversible defect in platelet aggregation after the commencement of fluoxetine.
Even a cursory examination of the prescribing information for any of the SSRI agents reveals many clues about the knowledge that was to evolve later – adverse effects listed for SSRIs include purpura, petechial rash, ecchymosis, epistaxis, menorrhagia and rectal bleeding, and some are listed as “common”.
The latest RGH E-Bulletin focuses our attention on anticoagulation. With more and more of the population taking anticiagulants understanding the factors for patient variability becomes more important.
The single most major concern in connection to anticoagulant use is the risk of bleeding. Perhaps the biggest driver of this concern is increasing intensity of anticoagulation. Often there is unpredictable variability in patient response to anticoagulant therapy that may inadvertently lead to overanticoagulation and subsequent bleeding.
Most variability in response to warfarin is driven by two genetic elements – the vitamin K epoxidase system, which is the basis for the action of warfarin, and the cytochrome P450 2C9 liver enzymes responsible for warfarin metabolism. As a result, daily maintenance doses can range from 0.5 mg – 20 mg/day.
ITV cut this from the Jonathon Ross Show that was on a couple of days before Christmas.Wowsers.Read my other blog at BitingTheDust Permalink | Leave a comment » […]
Not as organised as the Barefoot college in Africa there are a number of entrepreneurs making more with less. Take a look at the Afrigadget site Then come and take a look at my Remote, Indigenous and Health blog over at BitingTheDust Permalink | Leave a comment » […]
Find Me on Flickr
Disclamer
All opinions expressed here are those of their authors and not of their employers. The information provided here is of a general nature only and is not intended to provide pharmaceutical or medical advice or even advice about living bush.
In other words: If you travel bush make sure you seek advice and are prepared. If you are sick, don't be a nong and rely on information in the blog but see a health professional for assistance
