Aspirin Effects on Platelets Using Whole Blood Tested by Platelet Aggregometry: A Comparative Study for Test Validation in a Clinical Hemostasis Laboratory

Atherothrombosis-on-Chip: A Site-Specific Microfluidic Model for Thrombus Formation and Drug Discovery

Atherothrombosis, an atherosclerotic plaque disruption condition with superimposed thrombosis, is the underlying cause of cardiovascular episodes. Herein, a unique design is presented to develop a microfluidic site-specific atherothrombosis-on-chip model, providing a universal platform for studying the crosstalk between blood cells and plaque components. The device consists of two interconnected microchannels, namely main and supporting channels: the former mimics the vessel geometry with different stenosis, and the latter introduces plaque components to the circulation simultaneously. The unique design allows the site-specific introduction of plaque components in stenosed channels ranging from 0% to above 50%, resulting in thrombosis, which has not been achieved previously. The device successfully explains the correlation between vessel geometry and thrombus formation phenomenon as well as the influence of shear rate on platelet aggregation, confirming the reliability and the effectiveness of the design. The device exhibits significant sensitivity to aspirin. In therapeutic doses (50 × 10^-6 and 100 × 10^-6 m), aspirin delays and prevents platelet adhesion, thereby reducing the thrombus area in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, the device is effectively employed in testing the targeted binding of the RGD (arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid) labeled polymeric nanoparticles on the thrombus, extending the use of the device to examine targeted drug carriers.

Bleeding Complication in a Patient with Concomitant Use of Rivaroxaban and Saffron Supplement: a Case Report

BACKGROUND

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) carry a lower potential risk of food/herb and drug interactions compared with oral vitamin K antagonists. However, as a new class of medications, drug interactions of DOACs have not been fully known.

CASE PRESENTATION

We herein present the case of a 64-year old male with the complaint of acute onset epistaxis and bleeding gums following the concomitant use of rivaroxaban and saffron supplement. It seems that coadministration of DOACs and saffron supplements should be avoided due to the potential drug-herbal interactions and possible risk of subsequent bleeding complications.

CONCLUSION

However, further larger scale surveillance studies are needed to confirm the findings and assess the clinical significance.