Injectable polymer could keep trauma patients from
Post# of 22456
(Nanowerk News) Most military battlefield casualties die before reaching a surgical hospital. Of those soldiers who might potentially survive, most die from uncontrolled bleeding.
In some cases, there's not much medics can do -- a tourniquet won't stop bleeding from a chest wound, and clotting treatments that require refrigerated or frozen blood products aren't always available in the field.
That's why University of Washington researchers have developed a new injectable polymer that strengthens blood clots, called PolySTAT. Administered in a simple shot, the polymer finds any unseen or internal injuries and starts working immediately.
The new polymer, described in a paper featured on the cover of the March 4 issue of Science Translational Medicine ("A synthetic fibrin cross-linking polymer for modulating clot properties and inducing hemostasis" , could become a first line of defense in everything from battlefield injuries to rural car accidents to search and rescue missions deep in the mountains. It has been tested in rats, and researchers say it could reach human trials in five years..............
http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/biotech/newsid=39364.php