Blood clots are a major concern for people facing various health situations, including surgery, hospitalization and cancer. While current medications lower the risk of clots, they increase the chance of bleeding complications, to an extent that some people cannot take them. However, a new option may be on the horizon — a research study published today in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine shows promise for a new oral medication that is effective for preventing clots without increasing bleeding.
Gary Raskob, Ph.D., Dean of the Hudson College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, is senior author of the publication and chair of the steering committee for the study. The study tested the drug Milvexian in patients undergoing knee replacement surgery, who have a high risk of developing clots in the deep veins of their legs. More than 1,200 patients undergoing surgery at 118 health centers in 18 countries participated in the trial. Results showed that a daily dose of 100 milligrams or more of Milvexian was more effective for preventing clots than the current standard of treatment and, importantly, it had a low risk of bleeding.
“We are encouraged by these initial results with this new oral anticoagulant that works differently from existing medications,” Raskob said. “We may finally be able to realize the longstanding goal of separating the benefit of anticoagulant medication for preventing clots from its side effect of increasing bleeding complications.”
There is an enormous need for drugs to prevent clots — two of the top 10 drugs sold across the world are anti-clotting medications, Raskob said. Blood clots can cause serious illness and disability. As the underlying cause of most heart attacks and strokes, and of clots in the legs that move to the lungs, they are responsible for about 1 in 4 deaths worldwide. Blood clots in the lungs, known as pulmonary embolism, are fatal for about 100,000 people each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Because so many people require the medications to reduce the risk of clots, researchers are devoting significant time and resources to developing new therapies that are effective and improve patient safety.
Researchers chose the drug Milvexian to study because of the way it reacts with a protein in the blood called Factor XI. People who have a genetic deficiency of Factor XI (a condition known as hemophilia C) have a lower chance of developing clots later in life, and they don’t have spontaneous bleeding complications compared to people with other types of hemophilia. This suggested to researchers that if Factor XI could be reduced in at-risk patients, clots could be prevented without bleeding complications. Milvexian works by binding to Factor XI and inhibiting it, which reduces the risk of clot development.
Most of Raskob’s research career has been devoted to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of blood clots, formally called deep-vein thrombosis, as well as pulmonary embolism, a blockage that occurs when part of a clot breaks off and travels through the bloodstream to the lungs. In July, he was an author for another publication in the New England Journal of Medicine about abelacimab, a monoclonal antibody injected under the skin, which also targets Factor XI for the prevention of clots.

This holiday season, Leslie Shaw, 66, is looking forward to time with family. It’s time the Oklahoma City man wasn’t always sure he would have when he was hit by a life-threatening stroke.
A massive stroke nearly claimed Shaw’s life, leaving him hospitalized, unable to walk or talk. His doctors warned family members to prepare for a funeral.
“I decided I wasn’t ready to get busy dying, so I’m going to get busy living,” Shaw said.
Shaw says he was in the hospital when he discovered Valir Pace, a program that could provide him with all-inclusive care.
“We’re able to identify a patient, evaluate and give them whatever amount of therapy they need. There’s not an insurance company saying, ‘OK, you qualify for this many visits and then done.’ We just go until the goal is achieved,” said Ashley Henson, a nurse practitioner with Valir Pace.
Shaw’s stroke happened just a few weeks before his 60th birthday. His godson noticed something was wrong.
“He said, ‘Godfather, your face is looking funny.’ I said, ‘Looking funny?’” Shaw said.
The young man told him his face was drooping. Not long after that conversation, Shaw collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors told him his only hope to recover was to start therapy as soon as possible.
“There’s a window of time after a stroke, we call it neuroplasticity, where the brain is just ready and ripe to rehabilitate,” Henson explained.
Henson said Shaw’s experience is an important wake up call for all families with older loved ones, adding the holidays are a good time for families to check on their loved ones. Those wellness checks should include making sure they are taking their medications properly and following their doctors’ directions, especially if they have high blood pressure or diabetes which both increase the risk of stroke.
Henson said it’s also a good time for families to familiarize themselves with the signs of stroke. The acronym F.A.S.T. can help families know what to look for, when it comes to stroke.
The “F” stands for facial asymmetry — that’s the “drooping” on one side of the face that Shaw’s godson noticed.
“Have them smile. If part of their mouth is not pointing upwards, that’s a sign,” Henson said.
The “A” stands for arm weakness. The “S” for speech issues, such as slurring their words or struggling with speech. And, the “T” is for time, meaning you need to get help quickly.
Shaw did get to the hospital quickly. He also began therapy shortly after his stroke, and with the help of his therapists, he regained the ability to walk – first with a walker, then a quad cane and eventually walking on his own, even completing a 5K walk with some of his Valir Pace team at his side. He continues to work each week to maintain his strength and mobility.
Shaw credits hard work, God’s grace, and his team at Valir Pace for his ability to continue to live independently and says he is ready to enjoy life with those he loves this holiday season.
To learn more about Valir Pace and whether you or a loved one qualifies, visit ValirPace.org

The vision research program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Dean McGee Eye Institute recently received a five-year, $2.9 million grant renewal from the National Eye Institute. Called a P30 Vision Core grant, it supports the work of researchers in 21 laboratories with advanced equipment, sophisticated software, and other innovations to drive research that ultimately will improve the quality of life for patients seeking care for their vision.
Vision research is among the most highly funded areas of investigation at the OU Health Sciences Center. The current grant was originally awarded in 2011 and included several “cores” of specialized equipment available to vision researchers across the campus and at the neighboring Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF). The grant renewal expands those cores, giving researchers additional tools to more quickly translate their findings into treatments.
“The amount of this grant renewal is based on the fact that most of our individual researchers hold R01 grants from the National Eye Institute, which is considered the gold standard in vision research funding,” said Michelle Callegan, Ph.D., Director of Vision Research at Dean McGee Eye Institute and Professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Microbiology and Immunology in the OU College of Medicine. “Because our vision researchers have been so successful in attracting federal grant funding, we were able to renew this P30 grant, which not only advances their efforts, but helps us to recruit new vision researchers and trainees interested in vision science.”
The grant will also fund the creation of a new core in Ocular Immunobiology, providing researchers advanced methods of analyzing the immunological underpinnings of eye disease. “There is an immune-related slant to every model of eye disease,” Callegan said, “so the development of this core is really important to us.” The Ocular Immunobiology Core will be led by Darren Lee, Ph.D., whose own research focuses on autoimmune uveitis, an inflammation of the eye that is the third-leading cause of blindness in the United States.
Other cores include a Model Imaging Core that allows researchers to analyze visual function and other physiological parameters of eye disease models. The core also includes an emphasis on genotyping to ensure the genetic consistency of research models. It is led by Raju Rajala, Ph.D., whose research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases of the retina. The Cellular Imaging Core provides sophisticated equipment that allows researchers to visualize physiological processes at the cellular and subcellular levels. That core is directed by Michael Elliott, Ph.D., whose research focuses on cellular membranes and how they control cellular signaling in vision.
“The technology in these cores is very expensive. One individual researcher could not afford the equipment that we have,” said Callegan, who leads the overall administration of the grant. “Not only do many different researchers use the equipment, but the cores also facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration between researchers from ophthalmology, physiology, pathology, microbiology and other areas across campus, as well as OMRF.”
Since the original P30 grant was awarded in 2011, vision research has significantly increased at the OU Health Sciences Center and Dean McGee Eye Institute. Nearly 30 research laboratories across the OU Health Sciences Center and at OMRF are focusing on eye diseases, and multidisciplinary collaborations between vision and non-vision research laboratories have flourished. Several new vision researchers have been recruited, launched their own laboratories and gained their own independent funding.
“Many exciting things have occurred because of this P30 grant,” Callegan said. “This funding has provided resources that our investigators otherwise would not have access to, and it has advanced research toward our ultimate goal, which is improving and restoring vision.”
Research reported in this press release is supported by the National Eye Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health, under the award number 2P30EY021725-11.

They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but that’s exactly what employees from St. Ann’s Skilled Nursing and Therapy handed out Wednesday afternoon.
Bags filled with sandwiches and chips were put together to help the homeless in Oklahoma City.
“Our staff has really bought into this once-a-month event where we get to come out, we get to serve others,” said Mary Peacock-Smith, St. Ann’s administrator.
Each month, for the last few months, a group of employees from St. Ann’s have assembled meals and then taken them downtown. They set up just north of the Embark bus station in Oklahoma City and hand out the lunches to anyone who asks for one.
On this month’s visit, they brought 350 sandwiches, lunch sacks and bottles of water out to fill a void for some of those in need, but there is a greater purpose behind the lunch sacks both for staff members at St. Ann’s and for the homeless.
“Being in lockdown and going through that traumatic event together, we needed something to bring us together and bring us a sense of community,” said Peacock-Smith. “I think by serving others we really help ourselves in a positive way.” The lunch giveaway event is part of a partnership St Ann’s has forged with the local non-profit Oklahoma Citizen Advocates for Recovery and Transformation Association (OCARTA).
“They decided hey we want to help and so they’ve been doing the food and the water and helping support our mission, and we certainly support theirs,” said Donna Woods with OCARTA.
OCARTA offers free services to those in need of recovery or mental health services. This monthly lunch event helps bring awareness to the homeless community about the services that are available. And it is making a difference.