Heparin centenary – an ever-young life-saving drug

On the centenary of the discovery of heparin, the International Journal of Cardiology agreed to publish a collection of mini reviews that summarize the historical development of this ever-young life-saving drug. The present articles deal not only with the historical milestones, but also with current and future perspectives regarding the development of heparin in terms of its structure, as well as on-going biochemical, biological and clinical research. Attention is focused on recent applications of heparin derivatives to non-anticoagulant or antithrombotic therapies, providing particular emphasis on their inhibitory activities, including their potential as anti-cancer agents. In the Chapter, entitled 'Recent innovations in the structural analysis of heparin', some recent technological advances are described for the problem of monitoring the purity and reproducibility of pharmaceutical heparin. These now permit sensitive detection of non-heparin impurities, as well as the detection of heparin from different animal sources, to be made in pharmaceutical heparin samples. In 'Past, present, and future perspectives of heparin in clinical settings and the role of impaired renal function', the author traces the history of heparin and the development of low molecular weight heparin, highlighting the large number of clinical trials in which it has been involved, and reviewing its efficacy among patients with impaired renal function. In the final chapter, 'Old and new applications of non-anticoagulant heparin', the authors survey some of the many non-anticoagulant activities of heparin and its derivatives, including glycol-split heparin, which has demonstrated promising activities in a wide-range of situations.