Liver glycogen storage diseases (GSD) are disorders associated with se
vere dyslipidaemia which can induce cell membrane alterations and poss
ibly reduced cell deformability. Since decreased erythrocyte deformabi
lity is known to disturb blood flow in capillaries and may promote isc
haemic diseases, this study was designed to investigate erythrocyte de
formability using a new filtration system, the Cell Transit Analyser (
CTA), and to examine lipid compounds in the blood of 23 patients affec
ted with GSD, aged from 1 to 20 years and 18 controls aged from 1 to 1
7 years. The patients showed a mixed hyperlipidaemia with predominent
hypertriglyceridaemia and an increase in erythrocytes mean transit tim
es (TT) due to the presence of more rigid erythrocytes subpopulations
when compared to controls. Thus the erythrocyte rigidity, in addition
to the lipid abnormalities must be taken into account for long-term ev
olution of GSD patients. Moreover this cellular alteration may contrib
ute to shortened erythrocyte survival.