title: Scientific and therapeutic advances in antiplatelet therapy.
abstract: Over the past decade, the platelet has emerged as a pivotal entity in cardiovascular diseases. Indeed, the 'preeminence of the platelet' has spawned a variety of drugs that have been shown in large-scale randomized trials to improve patient outcomes in acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous revascularization procedures. Although the platelet was initially viewed only as a bystander in haemostasis, it is now evident that the platelet is in fact a key mediator of thrombosis as well as of inflammation. New insights at the cellular and genomic levels will probably generate novel drugs to inhibit platelet function more effectively and safely than previously possible.
authors.affiliation: Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine/Desk F25, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA. bhattd@ccf.org
authors.forename: Deepak L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Bhatt
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Topol
mesh_terms: D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D000818:Animals; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex; D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate; D001241:Aspirin