London, June 13 (CP). -- Use of heparin to prevent blood-clotting was described to the Royal College of Surgeons today by Dr. D. Gordon Murray of Toronto, who told of success in purifying the drug in departments of physiology and surgery of University of Toronto.
Heparin, extracted from liver, lung and other tissues, never has been successful because of the toxic reaction it produced when administered to living animals. The University of Toronto's laboratories have produced it in a non-toxic, crystalline powder form.
Dr. Murray's experiments showed that in addition to prolonging blood-clotting, heparin can prevent thrombosis in injured or diseased blood vessels. By continuous administration of the drug, through a needle tied into a vein, injured blood vessels can be healed, Dr. Murray said.
The practical value of the studies has been demonstrated on a series of persons suffering from embolism of the peripheral arteries, the Toronto doctor announced. It has also been possible to excise a segment of a large artery and replace it with a segment of vein obtain elsewhere in the patient's body still maintaining a normal circulation through the damaged vessel, Dr. Murray said.