Editing Thrombus (section)

==Treatment==
Once clots have formed, other drugs can be used to promote [[thrombolysis]] or clot breakdown. [[Streptokinase]], an enzyme produced by [[Streptococcus|streptococcal bacteria]], is one of the oldest thrombolytic drugs.<ref name=":2"/> This drug can be administered [[Intravenous therapy|intravenously]] to dissolve blood clots in [[Coronary circulation|coronary vessels]]. However, streptokinase causes systemic fibrinolytic state and can lead to bleeding problems. [[Tissue plasminogen activator]] (tPA) is a different enzyme that promotes the degradation of fibrin in clots but not free fibrinogen.<ref name=":2"/> This drug is made by transgenic bacteria and converts plasminogen into the clot-dissolving enzyme, [[plasmin]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Saladin |first=Kenneth S. |title=Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function |edition= 6th |location=New York |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=2012 |page=710 |isbn=978-0-07-337825-1 }}</ref> Recent research indicates that tPA could have toxic effects in the central nervous system. In cases of severe stroke, tPA can cross the [[blood–brain barrier]] and enter interstitial fluid, where it then increases excitotoxicity, potentially affecting permeability of the blood–brain barrier,<ref>{{cite journal|pmc=5848490|year=2016|last1=Fredriksson|first1=L.|title=TPA modulation of the blood–brain barrier: A unifying explanation for the pleiotropic effects of tPA in the CNS?|journal=Seminars in Thrombosis and Hemostasis|volume=43|issue=2|pages=154–168|last2=Lawrence|first2=D. A.|last3=Medcalf|first3=R. L.|pmid=27677179|doi=10.1055/s-0036-1586229}}</ref> and causing cerebral hemorrhage.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Medcalf|first=R.|title=Plasminogen activation-based thrombolysis for ischaemic stroke: the diversity of targets may demand new approaches|journal=Current Drug Targets|volume=12|issue=12|pages=1772–1781|doi=10.2174/138945011797635885|pmid=21707475|year=2011}}</ref>

There are also some anticoagulants that come from animals that work by dissolving [[fibrin]]. For example, ''[[Haementeria ghilianii]]'', an [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon]] [[leech]], produces an enzyme called [[hementin]] from its [[salivary gland]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=1772982|year=1991|last1=Budzynski|first1=A. Z.|title=Interaction of hementin with fibrinogen and fibrin|journal=Blood Coagulation & Fibrinolysis |volume=2|issue=1|pages=149–52|doi=10.1097/00001721-199102000-00022}}</ref>