New medication to avoid clots

2002/09/05 Orobengoa, Olatz - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Biokimika
• Osasuna

However, the drugs used have quite serious side effects. Sometimes the antidote causes very violent reactions. On other occasions, it is not easy to know what the correct dose of the drug is. A group of British scientists have created a drug with a new basis to overcome the negative effects of drugs currently used.

The new drug and its antidote are based on molecules called aptameros. The aptameros are small chains of RNA that, according to the sequence of bases, are able to rotate in a specific form. They are able to bind to proteins that form the clot when they are rounded. Therefore, proteins may not accumulate and no blood will be formed.

The antidote for the drug is another sequence of RNA. As the drug sequence is complementary, the RNA chains of the drug and the antidote bind spontaneously, releasing the protein. In this way, the blood can return to its normal state.

Despite being in the first steps to test the new drug in animals, other uses that aptameros may have are already being studied. In the case of the administration of doses adapted to each patient, as in the case of anesthesia or chemotherapy, aptameros can be very adequate, since they are antidotel treatment at any time or control the concentration of the drug.