COMBINATION EFFECT OF EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID AND PLATELET SUPPRESSIVE AGENTS ON PLATELETS

The effect of highly purified eicosapentaenoic acid in a soft capsule (EPA-E) combined with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) or ticlopidine (TIC) on platelets in patients with chronic cerebral ischemia was investigat ed. Patients in the first group were given EPA-E (1800 mg/d) alone for 4 weeks. In the second and third groups, patients were given ASA (162 mg/d) or TIC (200 mg/d) only for the first 4 weeks, then EPA-E (1800 mg/d) was added to the prescription for the last 4 weeks. Platelet fun ction was tested by examining platelet aggregation, platelet adhesiven ess, and the plasma level of beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG). Administr ation of EPA-E alone did not cause any changes in the platelet functio n test results. ASA alone significantly inhibited only the platelet ag gregation induced by collagen, while the addition of EPA-E led to sign ificant inhibition of aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate (AD P) and the plasma level of beta-TG. TIC alone showed significant inhib ition in all tests except for the aggregation induced by 1 mum ADP. No additional effect of EPA-E was observed. These results suggest that t he combination of EPA-E and ASA, each of which alone had only a partia l effect on platelets, is effective for suppressing ptatelet functions . However, EPA-E contributed no significant effect to TIC, which by it self effectively inhibited platelet functions.