Barking up the right tree
ACP Internist's puzzle feature challenges readers to find clues placed horizontally in rows to reveal an answer written vertically.
Answers to clues are placed horizontally in rows to reveal an answer written vertically. Unlike the familiar acrostic puzzle format, the final answer can be in any column.
Horizontal clues
1) Temperature preference of Naegleria fowleri, a problem for southern swimmers
2) Mainstay treatment for atopic dermatitis
3) The basic unit of muscle, from Z-line to Z-line
4) Crotalidae polyvalent immune fab takes the bite out of this problem
5) Creative? Life of the party? Or in need of lithium?
6) “Professional” eater of biology, e.g.: macrophages
7) Over $800 million a year is spent on these to keep America “regular”
8) Brain layers do matter; the cerebral spinal fluid circulates below this layer
9) This pet's poop possibly perpetrates psittacosis
Find in the vertical columns: Thrombin receptor antagonist just FDA-approved for prevention of myocardial infarction and stroke along with its natural parent compound. The puzzle grid is Table.
Answer: Vorapaxar and himbacine
The answer grid is Table 2.
Himbacine is an alkaloid isolated from the bark of Australian magnolias. A thrombin receptor antagonist, it is used to lower the chance of having another serious problem with heart or blood vessels. Source: Chackalamannil S, Wang Y, Greenlee WJ, Hu Z, Xia Y, Ahn HS, et al. Discovery of a novel, orally active himbacine-based thrombin receptor antagonist (SCH 530348) with potent antiplatelet activity. J Med Chem. 2008;51:3061-4. [PMID: 18447380]
