Advances in Antiplatelet Agents

Platelets are small circulating cells that are essential to maintain the integrity of blood vessels following injury. Any alteration in the interplay between platelets, the endothelium, and the coagulation cascade will put a subject at risk of bleeding or, conversely, of thrombosis. In this article, we focus on platelets as the central player in cardiovascular pathology, and we discuss the fundamental biological mechanisms leading to blood vessel occlusion and thus life-threatening ischemic diseases. We highlight the recent advances in the development of antiplatelet agents from a medicinal chemistry perspective and discuss new frontiers in platelet research.