Marine Anticoagulants and Antithrombotics

Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular diseases are unquestionably the main cause of death in the world. For example, the World Health Organization stated that in 2011 alone, approximately 7 and 6.2 million people have died, respectively, from ischemic heart disease and stroke - the two top causes of mortality reported for that year. Curiously, the third leading cause is lower respiratory infection, which have caused 3.2 million deaths that same year. This figure comprises a little less than 4 times the rate of the first two causes of death, combined. Considering that 55 million is the estimated number of deaths in world in the year of 2011, the two first causes, combined, comprise something close to 25% of the total deaths worldwide. Based on these numbers, it is evident that there is a high demand for anticoagulant/antithrombotic agents in the global pharmaceutical market.

The naturally occurring sulfated polysaccharide heparin is the most frequently employed anticoagulant/antithrombotic agent used so far. However, clinically speaking, the therapy based on heparin presents several side-effects, such as a propensity for developing thrombocytopenia, hemorrhagic consequences; ineffectiveness in congenital or acquired antithrombin deficiencies, incapacity to inhibit thrombin bound to fibrin, extremely variable bioavailability, and inherent structural complexity and heterogeneity. Hence, the research for new, potential anticoagulant/antithrombotic agents is highly required, especially nowadays, considering the great number of cardiovascular-associated deaths and diseases.

We believe that marine-sourced compounds are promising alternatives for new anticoagulant/antithrombotic agents, because they may present unique structures that are rarely seen, or perhaps even nonexistent, in terrestrial sources. Marine compounds can also present mechanisms of action in anticoagulation and antithrombosis that are different from those of heparin. These distinct activities can either compensate for the downsides of heparin therapy or even present new routes for anticoagulant and antithrombotic therapy. We have therefore decided to develop this Special Issue entitled “Marine Anticoagulants and Antithrombotics”. As guest editors, we invite you to contribute a paper from your research to this Special Issue of Marine Drugs. We believe that your contribution is highly important for launching future new anticoagulant/antithrombotic agents that may serve as alternatives to heparin, or at least as co-adjuvants to heparin treatment.

Dr. Paulo A.S. Mourão
Dr. Vitor H. Pomin
Guest Editors

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