MD appointed new LEO Pharma chair

Dr. Mark Crowther's appointment as the inaugural holder of the LEO Pharma Chair in
Thromboembolism is seen as a stepping stone for discovering new ways of treating
and managing deadly blood clots.

The appointment to the position, supported by a $2-million investment from the
Canadian division of the Danish-based pharmaceutical company Leo Pharma, was
announced Friday.

“It is a great honour,” said Crowther, professor of medicine, pathology and
molecular
medicine in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University and
director of the division of hematology and thromboembolism.

“The chair provides funding for research activity and for salary support while
building
research capacity at McMaster and St. Joseph's Healthcare. Hopefully, it will lead to
improvements in the way we diagnose and manage DVT (deep vein thrombosis).”

DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the pelvis, leg or arm. It
can
lead to a life-threatening pulmonary embolism if the clot blocks the blood supply to
the lung. DVT occurs in more than 50,000 Canadians every year.

The chair announcement comes just days before the start of DVT Awareness Month
in
March, a month designated to increase awareness and knowledge of a killer disease
which the general public knows little about.

Crowther regularly sees instances of a lack of awareness among both the public
and
health care professionals. “There are many, many people who I see in the clinic who
have symptoms for days, weeks and months. They don't know anything about this.
They don't seek medical attention, or worse, they go to see their primary care
physician or the emergency department and their symptoms aren't recognized. Some
die. Some get worsening symptoms. Others keep going back to the emergency
department.”

The irony is there are many excellent treatments to manage blood clots if they are
diagnosed correctly and quickly, he said.

Crowther has a variety of research projects underway which are designed to
explore
new anti-thrombotic drugs, and to improve the way current drugs are used.

He is testing the hypothesis that daily, fixed, small doses of vitamin K may
improve the
quality of the commonly used blood thinner warfarin, an advance which might mean
both fewer laboratory tests and few complications for patients. He is also working on
the development of warfarin guidelines which will be accompanied by a summary with
evidence-based recommendations.