After years of research, Australian researchers have been able to utilize nanotechnology1 that allows the dissolution of blood clots in people who are at risk of heart attack2 and stroke. The results of the studies were published recently in the journal ‘Advanced Materials’. The studies are not yet conclusive and there are many tests left to be done before the treatment method can be used on a large scale.
The method involves the use of a nanocapsule that processes blood clots and dissolve them. These nanocapsules are coated with a special drug that facilitates their function and they can directly remove blood clots3 from blood vessels4 even in the most sensitive of areas. The idea behind the research was to ‘hack’ the clotting system and reverse its effects in order to remove any kind of blockages in the blood vessels. Professor Hagemeyer, the head researcher of the project is quite confident that the drug can become a safe alternative for treating people who are at risk of heart disease or have chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
- Emerich, Dwaine F., and Christopher G. Thanos. “Nanotechnology and medicine.” Expert opinion on biological therapy 3.4 (2003): 655-663. ↩︎
- Dracup, Kathleen, et al. “Causes of delay in seeking treatment for heart attack symptoms.” Social science & medicine 40.3 (1995): 379-392. ↩︎
- Goldhaber, Samuel Z., and Nicole Grasso-Correnti. “Treatment of blood clots.” Circulation 106.20 (2002): e138-e140. ↩︎
- Tucker, William D., Yingyot Arora, and Kunal Mahajan. “Anatomy, blood vessels.” (2017). ↩︎
Last Updated on by NamitaSoren