new drug

[Guest guest]

Guys I feel that a lot of my troubles were caused by wafarin

therapy, especially the side effects to other drugs.

I noticed that even when off of Dofetilide I still got the

bloating feeling and a side effect with my asthma meds. After stopping

Warfarin and into the three weeks by body started to get back to normal, my

eyes are a lot better, the bloats have gone. I was also informed that

Wafarin really irritates the linings of the gut. Perhaps with this extra

sensitivity it make the guys more prone to absorb drugs, I just do not know.

I would also not WANT any body to try and GIVE UP wafarin just to see if

they feel better. I have herd of the drug mentioned below , as far as I

recall you do not need regular blood tests as it works in a completely

different way to Wafarin.

Good luck

C

Results Presented at American Society of Hematology

WILMINGTON, Del., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Interim results of a Phase II

trial comparing AstraZeneca's investigational oral direct thrombin inhibitor

EXANTA (ximelagatran) to warfarin for the prevention of strokes in patients

with chronic nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) showed 0.9 strokes and

0.4 transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) per 100 treatment years (3 events) for

patients on EXANTA and 2.6 strokes and 2.6 TIAs per 100 treatment years

(4 events) for patients on warfarin.

Results of the SPORTIF IV trial were presented today at the 43rd annual

meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Orlando, Florida. Both

strokes observed in the patients treated with EXANTA were ischemic and

non-fatal. Both strokes observed in the warfarin-treated patients were

hemorrhagic and fatal.

SPORTIF IV is a long-term, open-label continuation of SPORTIF II, a

12-week randomized dose-finding study. In SPORTIF IV, 125 patients with

chronic NVAF and at least one additional stroke risk factor received

fixed-dose EXANTA (36 mg bid) and 42 patients received warfarin

(dose-adjusted to an INR of 2-3). Patients have been treated for between

21 and 24 months; the study is ongoing. These preliminary results need to

be

confirmed in larger-scale clinical trials.

The incidence of major bleeding was 0.9 per 100 treatment years with

EXANTA and 2.6 per 100 treatment years with warfarin. In the combined

SPORTIF

II/IV clinical trials, liver enzyme levels of at least three times the upper

limit of normal were observed in approximately 5 percent of patients treated

with EXANTA. None of these patients was symptomatic, and enzyme levels

decreased during continued treatment or discontinuation of therapy.

EXANTA is the first oral direct thrombin inhibitor under Phase III

investigation. The mechanism of action of EXANTA is to inhibit the activity

of a clot-forming enzyme called thrombin, which is critical to the final

step

in the formation of blood clots. Ongoing clinical studies utilize a fixed

dose of EXANTA without routine coagulation monitoring.

According to the American Heart Association, atrial fibrillation is

found

in about two million Americans. During atrial fibrillation, the two small

upper chambers of the heart, called the atria, quiver instead of beating

effectively. Blood in these quivering chambers can pool and clot. If a

piece

of the blood clot travels to an artery in the brain and becomes lodged, a

stroke may result. About 15 percent of strokes in the United States occur

in

people with atrial fibrillation.

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN

<http://alliance.marketwatch.com/custom/alliance/interactivechart.asp?symb=A

ZN & astyle=0,0,0,0,0,0,0,10,0,0 & c=179 & urlpull= & logourl= & post=0> ) is a major

international healthcare business

engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of ethical

(prescription) pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is

one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world with healthcare

sales of $15.8 billion and leading positions in sales of cardiovascular,

gastrointestinal, oncology, anesthesia (including pain management), central

nervous system (CNS) and respiratory products. In the United States,

AstraZeneca is an $8 billion healthcare business with more than

10,000 employees.

For more information about AstraZeneca please visit

http://www.astrazeneca-us.com <http://www.astrazeneca-us.com>

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to

AstraZeneca's business. By their nature, forward-looking statements and

forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and

depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number

of

factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ

materially.

For a discussion of those risks and uncertainties, please see the company's

Annual Report/Form 20-F for 2000.

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