The term " thrombolytic therapy " refers to the attempted removal of preformed intravascular fibrin occlusions using fibrinolytic agents. Several substances have been described as inducing a fibrinolytic state in the peripheral blood ; however, for only a few of these (namely, the plasminogen activators streptokinase and urokinase) was it proved beyond reasonable doubt that administration resul...

Fibrinolytic therapy may be effective in the treatment of ischemic stroke, and clinical trials are under way. We evaluated two fibrinolytic agents, an analogue of tissue plasminogen activator (Fb-Fb-CF, the catalytic fragment of the tissue plasminogen activator molecule with a prolonged serum half-life, n = 10) and streptokinase (n = 7), in a rabbit model of embolic stroke. Both agents were giv...

The fibrinolytic capacity of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is known to be impaired. The primary regulatory element of the fibrinolytic system is plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI). It has been previously observed that there are 2 peaks in the plasma PAI level of AMI patients at 4h and 16h after thrombolytic therapy with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA). Lanot...

We conducted a randomized, blinded controlled trial to test the efficacy of fibrinolytic therapy with tissue plasminogen activator and urokinase in the treatment of acute embolic stroke. Embolic stroke was simulated in rabbits by injecting three 0.5x0.5 mm fragments of autologous arterial thrombus harvested from a traumatized auricular artery. Thirty minutes after embolization the rabbits were ...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Treatment of thromboembolic vascular disease has relied on anticoagulants. However, recognition that lysis of preformed fibrin could be accomplished in vivo by a process involving the conversion of inactive plasminogen to active plasmin enzyme led to an alternative enzyme-based approach. The drugs used for this therapy are called the fibrinolytic enzymes. In this study we...

Crotalus durissus cumanensis snake venoms from different Venezuelan regions, showed biochemical and hemostatic variations. Fibrino(geno)lytic, hemorrhagic and procoagulant activities and gel-filtration chromatography and SDS-PAGE profiles were analyzed. Differences were observed in fibrinolytic activity: kallikrein-like amidolytic activity was highest in venoms of Santa Teresa, and Margarita. L...