
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 7, 1991                   TAG: 9103070063
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: BOSTON                                LENGTH: Short

STUDIES CITE BLOOD CHEMICAL'S POTENTIAL HARM

Serotonin, a body chemical that improves circulation in healthy blood vessels, has the opposite effect in people with heart disease, research suggests.

Two studies in today's New England Journal of Medicine describe the conflicting effects.

Serotonin and other potent chemicals are released into blood as platelets clump together to form clots. The new research suggests serotonin can then make arteries constrict, further restricting the flow of blood. - Associated Press

by CNB