?Big data? approach helps pinpoint possible new stent drug to prevent heart attacks

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers hunting for a better drug coating for coronary stents, the small mesh tubes used to prop open plaque-filled arteries, have pinpointed a cancer drug as a possible candidate.

In mice, crizotinib helped to prevent stent disease, the often-serious medical problem caused by stents themselves, without affecting the blood vessel lining. The medication has already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for chemotherapy.