“Your Guide to Preventing and Treating Blood Clots” is a 12-page consumer booklet summarizing the causes and symptoms of blood clots, ways to avoid them, and what to expect from treatment.
Free copies of both booklets are available either by calling 800-358-9295 or by sending an e-mail to
Warfarin Genotype Study Set to Begin
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is about to launch its first-ever multicenter, double-blind, pharmacogenetic trial—one focused on warfarin therapy.
The COAG (Clarification of Optimal Anticoagulation Through Genetics) trial aims to determine whether targeting patients according to their genotype during the initiation of warfarin therapy would lead to better and safer anticoagulation control, especially in patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), according to an NHLBI representative. Results are anticipated in 2011.
Warfarin is the most commonly used blood-thinning treatment, and the 10th most prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 21 million prescriptions per year, according to the NHLBI. Patients with certain genotypes have been shown to metabolize warfarin better than do others, and some researchers believe that there may be an optimal genotype for toleration of the drug. “It is hoped that prospectively using the genetic information in addition to the clinical information will help clinicians determine better and safer initial dosing for specific patients,” an NHLBI spokesperson said.
The COAG trial will be coordinated by the center for clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. By the end of 2008, study coordinators hope to begin enrolling 1,965 patients. Details are still being finalized, but the NHLBI spokesperson said that she expects participants will have to be starting on warfarin therapy with an indication of at least 3 months of treatment. They will likely have to be warfarin naive, and without any major contraindications to anticoagulant treatment.
To request more information on patient enrollment, send an e-mail to