EFFECT OF ANTICOAGULANT-THERAPY ON THE HYPERCOAGULABLE STATE IN PATIENTS CARRYING THE FACTOR-V ARG506GLN MUTATION

Resistance to activated protein C, caused by a single point mutation i n the factor V gene (Arg506Gln or FV Leiden), is the most prevalent si ngle risk factor associated with venous thromboembolic disease. The ai m of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of standard oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) in patients with the Arg506Gln mutation co mpared with a matched control group. The study compared selected varia bles in 27 patients carrying the Arg506Gln mutation with 27 sex- and a ge-matched controls in steady state oral anticoagulant treatment (OAT) . The study showed that similar doses of vitamin K antagonists in carr iers and noncarriers suppress and generate a uniform distribution of c oagulation markers in steady state OAT. Thus, it seems that OAT with s tandard treatment doses is just as effective in patients with the Arg5 06Gln mutation as in comparable controls without the mutation. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science Ltd.