New Synthetic Platelets for Blood Clotting

[SanDiegoEmt7]

Fake blood-clotting products to heal wounded soldiers
Wounded soldier
Immediate treatment can save lives

Scientists say they have made a synthetic blood-clotting agent that could help wounded troops and patients.

In the lab, the fake platelets cut bleeding in half compared with having no treatment.

They could offer doctors a limitless supply with a longer shelf life than fresh donor platelets, the journal Science Translational Medicine reports.

The Case Western Reserve University team in the US hopes the product could become available in coming years.

The stuff the fake platelets are made from is already used in treatments approved by the US regulators, which the scientists say should help speed things along.

James Bertram and Professor Erin Lavik developed the platelets using biodegradable polymers and designed them to home in and link up with a patient's own platelets at the site of injury...

See the story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8413336.stm

 

[bunkie]

That is absolutely amazing! When I was a regular platelet donor for the ASBP they were always short on platelet donors and the program was taking it hard having to split them between Astan, Iraq and the cancer pt's in the states. I wonder if they will incorporate these into use for cancer patients?

 

[So. IL Medic]

That is absolutely amazing! When I was a regular platelet donor for the ASBP they were always short on platelet donors and the program was taking it hard having to split them between Astan, Iraq and the cancer pt's in the states. I wonder if they will incorporate these into use for cancer patients?

If they can limit unwanted clot formations, it will be brilliant,

 

[Jeffrey_169]

If I understadn my history correctly, we had a "Quickclot" like agent in use during WWII. I still don't understand why civilains don't use it. Certain SWAT Teams around the country have had for a while now, but have never seen it on a truck.

 

[Veneficus]

I like the British idea of producing blood in vitro from stem cell lines better than a synthetic polymer.

That would allow the creation of whole blood or any component in near limitless quantity.

medical polymers are not complication free. Particularly their ability to act as a medium for bacterial replication.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Jeffrey_169]

I like the British idea of producing blood in vitro from stem cell lines better than a synthetic polymer.

That would allow the creation of whole blood or any component in near limitless quantity.

medical polymers are not complication free. Particularly their ability to act as a medium for bacterial replication.

Just my thoughts.

Is this why we don't use them prehospital?

 

[Aidey]

Quickclot and similar products are used in some places in the US.


The product they are talking about is an in vitro product. They have been attempting to develop a non-blood oxygen carrying and/or clotting product for years, but they have not been able to come up with anything that works or is reasonable to use pre-hospital.

One of the products ended up having a higher mortality rate than just using saline, and others have very short shelf lives or are very expensive.

 

[Veneficus]

Quickclot and similar products are used in some places in the US.


The product they are talking about is an in vitro product. They have been attempting to develop a non-blood oxygen carrying and/or clotting product for years, but they have not been able to come up with anything that works or is reasonable to use pre-hospital.

One of the products ended up having a higher mortality rate than just using saline, and others have very short shelf lives or are very expensive.

I worked at a place that was part of the polyheme study, I didn't think about it at the time, but I am wondering if the reason saline had a lower mortality is because the polyheme was designed as an o2 carrier, not a clotting agent. So it may have been similar to attempting high volume resuscitation I will look deeper into it this week.

 

[Aidey]

That is an interesting thought on the results, you will have to post what you find.