Abnormalities of fatty acid composition in plasma, erythrocytes, and platelets in cerebral infarction

Abstract

Fatty acid compositions of plasma, erythrocytes, and platelets were determined in cerebral infarction (CI) to elucidate the relation of these to atherosclerosis and platelet aggregability. Based on the findings of both CT and cerebral angiography, CI patients were divided into two subgroups; CI of cortical type (CI-C) with atherosclerosis of the major cervical and intracranial arteries and CI of perforating type (CI-P) with no significant angiographic changes. In both subgroups, the relative amount of palmitic acid was higher and that of linoleic acid was lower than these in the control. Serum level of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) in CI-C was lower than that in the control and CI-P. It is likely that, in the CI-C subgroup, a combination of fatty acid abnormalities and reduced serum HDL-C accelerates the atheroma formation in the major cervical and intracranial arteries.
Abnormalities of the fatty acid composition in platelets were strongly related to platelet aggregability. In highly aggregating platelets, frequently seen in CI-P, the arachidonic acid was lower and eicosapentaenoic acid was higher than these in normally aggregating platelets. We suggest that these abnormal fatty acid composition in platelets may be a risk factor in CI-P through enhanced platelet aggregability.