Premium
Reduction of antithrombin III, protein C, and protein S levels and activated protein C resistance in polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia patients with thrombosis
Author(s) -
Bucalossi Alessandro,
Marotta Giuseppe,
Bigazzi Catia,
Galieni Piero,
Dispensa Egidio
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
american journal of hematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.456
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1096-8652
pISSN - 0361-8609
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-8652(199605)52:1<14::aid-ajh3>3.0.co;2-9
Subject(s) - polycythemia vera , essential thrombocythemia , medicine , phlebotomy , gastroenterology , antithrombin , thrombosis , activated protein c resistance , protein s , protein c , hematocrit , platelet , venous thrombosis , factor v leiden , heparin
Patients with polycythemia vera (PV) or essential thrombocythemia (ET) show a high frequency of thrombosis. The reduction of hematocrit after phlebotomy and normalization of platelet counts do not completely eliminate thrombotic risk. Some preliminary studies reported a reduction in the concentration of natural anticoagulants (NA) in this group of patients. For this reason we evaluated protein S (PS) total antigen, antithrombin III (AT III), and protein C (PC) activity in 81 patients with chronic myeloproliferative disorders (33 with PV and 48 with ET). Data were compared with those obtained in 70 healthy sex‐ and age‐matched subjects. Fifty‐seven percent of patients (46 out of 81) showed one or more thrombotic episodes at diagnosis or during follow‐up. Interestingly, we found a NA deficit in 43.5% of patients with thrombosis versus only 5.7% in the group of patients without thrombosis. These results may suggest new interpretations about the pathogenesis of thrombosis in PV or ET patients. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.