Argatroban is a direct antithrombin agent developed for the first time by O
kamoto et al in 1978, Unlike heparin, it manifests its anticoagulant effect
by binding directly to the active site of thrombin, A phase II double-blin
d comparative study was conducted in 52 facilities with a placebo control.
The drug was administered hy a slow intravenous infusion at 60 mg/d for the
first 2 days and then at 10 mg twice daily for the subsequent 5 days. Glyc
erol was used concomitantly as a basic therapy for both the argatroban and
placebo groups,
The results demonstrated superior improvements, particularly in neurologica
l symptoms (motor paralysis) and daily living activities (walking, standing
up, continuous sitting, and eating), in the argatroban group compared with
the placebo group. These improvements were observed from the early stage o
f administration.
It was also found that administration of the drug in the early stage of the
disease gave better results, In the present study, although a hemorrhagic
cerebral infarct occurred in one case in the argatroban group, this seemed
to be no different from a spontaneous incidence, as it also occurred in two
cases in the placebo group, Symptoms were not aggravated in any of the cas
es. These results indicate that argatroban is an effective and safe drug fo
r the treatment of acute cerebral thrombosis.