Side effects
Prasterone is produced naturally in the human body, but the long-term effects of its use are largely unknown. In the short term, several studies have noted few adverse effects. In a study by Chang et al., prasterone was administered at a dose of 200 mg/day for 24 weeks with slight androgenic effects noted. Another study utilized a dose up to 400 mg/day for 8 weeks with few adverse events reported. A longer-term study followed patients dosed with 50 mg of prasterone for 12 months with the number and severity of side effects reported to be small. Another study delivered a dose of 50 mg of prasterone for 10 months with no serious adverse events reported.As a hormone precursor, there have been reports of side effects possibly caused by the hormone metabolites of prasterone.It is not known whether prasterone is safe for long-term use. Some researchers believe prasterone supplements might actually raise the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Prasterone may stimulate tumor growth in types of cancer that are sensitive to hormones, such as some types of breast, uterine, and prostate cancer. Prasterone may increase prostate swelling in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an enlarged prostate gland.Prasterone is a steroid hormone. High doses may cause aggressiveness, irritability, trouble sleeping, and the growth of body or facial hair on women. It also may stop menstruation and lower the levels of HDL cholesterol, which could raise the risk of heart disease.
Thrombolysis
Thrombolysis is the pharmacological destruction of blood clots by administering thrombolytic drugs including recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, which enhances the normal destruction of blood clots by the bodys enzymes. This carries an increased risk of bleeding so is generally only used for specific situations (such as severe stroke or a massive pulmonary embolism). Surgery
Arterial thrombosis may require surgery if it causes acute limb ischemia. Endovascular treatment
Mechanical clot retrieval and catheter-guided thrombolysis are used in certain situations. Antiplatelet agents
Arterial thrombosis is platelet-rich, and inhibition of platelet aggregation with antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin may reduce the risk of recurrence or progression. Targeting ischemia/reperfusion injury
With reperfusion comes ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury (IRI), which paradoxically causes cell death in reperfused tissue and contributes significantly to post-reperfusion mortality and morbidity. For example, in a feline model of intestinal ischemia, four hours of ischemia resulted in less injury than three hours of ischemia followed by one hour of reperfusion. In ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), IRI contributes up to 50% of final infarct size despite timely primary percutaneous coronary intervention. This is a key reason for the continued high mortality and morbidity in these conditions, despite endovascular reperfusion treatments and continuous efforts to improve timeliness and access to these treatments. Hence, protective therapies are required to attenuate IRI alongside reperfusion in acute ischemic conditions to improve clinical outcomes. Therapeutic strategies that have potential to improve clinical outcomes in reperfused STEMI patients include remote ischemic conditioning (RIC), exenatide, and metoprolol. These have emerged amongst a multitude of cardioprotective interventions investigated with largely neutral clinical data.