Abstract
We have reported previously that red blood cel aggregability (RBC-A) is enhanced in patients with cerebral infarction (Stroke 1989 ; 20 : 1202-1207). The purpose of the present study was to investigate RBC-A in patient with transient ischemic attacks (TIA). The subjects comprised 26 patients with an episode of TIA more than once in the past one year (21 males and 5 females, 56±8 YO) and 52 healthy human volunteers (56±8 YO). The TIA patients were divided into two subgroups according to their brain CT findings; group A, infarcted area on CT (-), N=19, group B, infarcted area on CT (+), N=7. RBC-A was measured using the whole blood RBC aggregometer developed by us (Am J Physiol 251 : H1205-H1210, 1986) with concomitant measurement of blood factors such as hematocrit, albumin-globulin ratio (A/G ratio) and fibrinogen. The RBC-A values in TIA (group A + group B), group A and group B were 0.142 ± 0.025/sec, 0.133 ± 0.022/sec and 0.163± 0.012/sec, respectively. These values were statistically significantly (p<0.01, p<0.05, p<0.05) higher than that of the control group (0.122 ±0.027/s). There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in RBC-A between group A and group B. There were no statistically significant differences in the values of the hematocrit, A/G ratio and fibrinogen between TIA patients and controls. The above data suggests that enhanced RBC aggregability in TIA patients may reflect a precursor state of cerebral infarction from the standpoint of hemorheology.
