Scientists develop new gene screening process to administer anticoagulant

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- A new gene screening process has been developed that
can drastically reduce the risk of administering anticoagulants to treat people
suffering from atrial fibrillation and deep vein thrombosis, researchers said
Tuesday.
The multinational team, led by Shin Jae-gook at Inje University in Busan, said
they have created a method to precisely check individual tolerance for the widely
used warfarin anticoagulant.
"By taking 2cc of blood and analyzing a person's genetic code, researchers have
been able to develop a system to effectively control the dosage of the drug that
can allow individualized treatment," said Shin, a professor at Inje's medical
school.
"Setting the appropriate dosage is notoriously difficult since studies have
showed tolerance levels varying by up to 100 times from person-to-person
depending on age, weight and other physical conditions," Shin said.
Too little warfarin can cause clogging that can lead to paralysis, while
excessive use could cause brain hemorrhaging and in serious cases death.
The drug is also used to treat people who have had mechanical heart valve
replacement surgery.
The research, based on tests conducted on 5,000 people, showed that screening is
particularly helpful for people who take less than 3 milligrams of the drug per
day and those who take heavy dosages of around 7 milligrams.
It also revealed that Koreans generally require less warfarin than Caucasians or
blacks.
Research institutes from the United States, Japan, Britain, Switzerland, Sweden,
Taiwan, Israel and Brazil took part in the research, which has been published in
the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and Ministry for Health,
Welfare and Family Affairs supported the research. It took about 30 months to
complete.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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