Clopidogrel – a Platelet Inhibitor which Inhibits Thrombogenesis in Non-Anticoagulated Human Blood Independently of the Blood Flow Conditions

SummaryThe goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of 7 and 14 days of daily oral administration of 75 mg clopidogrel on collagen-induced thrombogenesis in flowing non-anticoagulated human blood. Blood was drawn directly from an antecubital vein over immobilised collagen type III fibrils positioned in a parallel-plate perfusion chamber. The wall shear rates at the collagen surface were those characteristic for veins (100 s−1), and for medium sized (650 s−1) and moderately stenosed (2600 s−1) arteries.Clopidogrel ingestion reduced the thrombus volume significantly (p Thus, it appears that clopidogrel inhibits thrombus formation in human blood primarily by interfering with platelet-platelet binding and the inhibition is effective independently of the wall shear rate.