How the contaminated heparin drug kills
May 2, 2008
Finally we have a medical explanation of how the contaminated version of heparin was able to kill individuals who used the blood-thinning drug. A scientific report by a research team on the workings of the substance is being published today in the online version of Nature Biotechnology.
MIT Professor Ram Sasisekharan described the chemical structure of the contaminant, known as oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS), and states that steps can be taken to screen batches of heparin that have been adulterated by the rogue substance.
Sasisekharan also led another team that showed exactly how OSCS triggers a severe allergy-type reaction that lowers blood pressure and can be life-threatening. This report appears today in New England Journal of Medicine’s online edition.
The NEJM’s article includes a fascinating history of how the contaminant was identified and the effects on the heparin-using public and a case story of a 63-year-old woman who recovered from exposure to the contaminating substance after heparin was given to her from a source not associated with the contamination.
Presented in the public interest by Griffith Publishing
