Pharmacology and clinical potential of direct thrombin inhibitors.

Direct thrombin inhibitors represent a new class of anticoagulants that bind directly to thrombin and block the enzyme's interactions with its substrates. These agents have been developed, at least in part, to overcome the limitations of heparin and vitamin K antagonists. This paper (a) reviews why thrombin is an ideal target for new anticoagulants, (b) describes the pharmacological profiles of the various direct thrombin inhibitors, (c) …