ERYTHROCYTE AGGREGABILITY IN SUBTYPES OF CEREBRAL INFARCTION

We examined erythrocyte aggregability (RBC-A) in 108 patients with acu te-atage (less than 72 hours after onset) cerebral infarction (85 male s, 23 females; age, 40-78 (61 +/- 10 (mean +/- SD)) YO) and 52 age-mat ched healthy volunteers (37 males and 15 females, 59 +/- 9 YO). The su btypes of these patients were atherothrombotic infarction (N = 31, 62 +/- 10 YO), lacunar infarction (N = 58, 61 +/- 9 YO) and cardioembolic infarction (N = 19, 60 +/- 10 YO). RBC-A was examined using the whole -blood erythrocyte aggregometer developed by us (Am. J. Physiol. 251, H1205-H1210, 1986) with concomitant measurement of hematocrit, albumin :globulin ratio and fibrinogen concentration. RBC-A values in atheroth rombotic infarction (0.153 +/- 0.026/s), lacunar infarction (0.154 +/- 0.021/s) and cardioembolic infarction (0.163 +/- 0.022/s) were signif icantly (P < 0.01) higher than that in age-matched healthy volunteers (0.122 +/- 0.027/s). Fibrinogin concentrations in atherothrombotic inf arction (391 +/- 93 mg/dl), lacunar infarction (333 +/- 79 mg/dl) and cardioembolic infarction (423 +/- 66 mg/dl) were also significantly (P < 0.01) higher than that in age-matched healthy volunteers (294 +/- 7 3 mg/dl). Fibrinogen concentration in atherothrombotic infarction and cardioembolic infarction were significantly (P < 0.01) higher than tha t in lacunar infarction. Albumin;globulin ratio in cardioembolic infar ction (1.42 +/- 0.26) was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those in atherothrombotic infarction (1.66 +/- 0.29), lacunar infarction (1.76 +/- 0.31) and healthy volunteers (1.79 +/- 0.31) We conclude that RBC -A was enhanced in all subtypes of acute-stage cerebral infarction and there were no differences in RBC-A among subtypes.