Stopping platelets at the source

New treatment may prevent blood clots without boosting bleeding risk

Slowing the production of clot-forming platelets may protect against heart attack and stroke without the risk of excessive bleeding posed by aspirin and other anti-clotting medications, scientists report. The new study, in which an antibody is used to limit the outflow of clot-forming platelets from the bone marrow in baboons, appears in the June 23 Science Translational Medicine.