Sterol for Bleeders

A person whose blood does not clot in three to six minutes is regarded by doctors as a poor surgical or obstetrical risk. No satisfactory chemical is known which will shorten the coagulation time of bleeders, but in last week's Science Dr. Aaron Lee Lichtman and Physiologist William Harold Chambers of Cornell University Medical College announced the discovery of a new compound which greatly reduces the clotting period in animals.

From the livers of fresh-killed dogs, lambs and pigs they extracted a sterol (solid alcohol) which they dissolved in sesame oil. Then they artificially lengthened the clotting period of rats and dogs by tying up their bile ducts. Small amounts of the sterol were injected under the skins of the rats, into the veins of the dogs. Normal rats and dogs were also injected. Before and after injections the scientists measured the coagulation time of each animal by drawing a drop of blood from a vein onto a glass plate exposed to air.

Findings: After six hours, clotting time of mature bleeder rats was reduced from, about nine minutes to three. Clotting time of normal male rats, normal dogs and bleeder dogs was reduced about 50%. Chicks which had been given a diet deficient in Vitamin K (bloodclotting vitamin found in leafy vegetables and cereals) showed a reduction in clotting time from about 17 minutes to five after sterol injections. Although the sterol acts like Vitamin K, said the scientists, it is an entirely different substance. Its effects lasted for several days.

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