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An evaluation of the hemorheologic parameters and an ultrasonographic study of the extracranial carotid tract were performed on 48 patients, age range: sixty to seventy-five years, affected by acute stroke, 23 of whom had hypertension, while 27 were smokers. None of them was suffering from hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, or symptomatic coronary heart or peripheral artery disease. The echotomographic analysis, using B-mode real-time echotomography revealed atherosclerotic lesions in 26 patients. The hemorheologic pattern (hematocrit, fibrinogen, whole blood filterability, whole blood and plasma viscosity) was determined in all the patients three months after the clinical event. Statistical analysis of the results indicates a possible link between atherosclerotic lesions of the extracranial carotid tract and age, fibrinogen levels, and whole blood filterability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of 3-glucosaminoglycan sulfate on lipids and the hemorheologic parameters were observed in a preliminary double-blind crossover study in 30 hyperlipidemic peripheral vascular disease (PYD) patients. Parenteral administration of the test drug was associated with a reduction in serum lipids, especially in triglyceride levels, and a lowering of fibrinogen, plasma viscosity, and whole blood viscosity levels. These effects justify the drug's use in the treatment of PYD, especially when associated with hypertriglyceridemia and hemorheologic disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution real-time echotomography was used in a longitudinal study on 118 atherosclerotic plaques of the extracranial carotid tract with the aim of identifying those most likely to cause a cerebrovascular event. Seventy patients (average age 61 ± 7 years), referred to our Clinical Vascular Laboratory because suffering from transient cerebral ischemic attacks (TIA), coronary heart disease (CHD), peripheral artery disease (PAD), or cervical bruits (CB), were followed up for two years. Medical treatment remained that of the referring physician. Ten patients suffered from clinical events caused by stroke, TIA, and/or carotid occlusion during the follow-up. The echostructural profile of the lesions most often correlated with the clinical event was characterized by a mixed or hard echogenic pattern, an irregular surface, and an initial vascular stenosis of more than 50%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-year follow-up on 118 atherosclerotic lesions of the extracranial carotid tract observed in 70 patients was carried out using real-time high-reso- lution echotomography. The following plaque characteristics were monitored: the echogenic patterns (soft, intermediate, hard, and mixed), the surface aspects, and the degree of stenosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate plaque evolution, in relation both to the degree of vessel stenosis produced and to the echostructural characteris- tics of the lesion. After two years 68% of the lesions remained unchanged while the degree of vessel stenosis increased in 32%; no case of regression was observed. Intrinsic factors appearing to condition an increase in degree of stenosis were ‘mixed’ and ‘hard’ echogenic pattern, an irregular lesion surface, and an initial degree of stenosis of more than 50%. A modification in the echogenic pattern, which generally tended to progress toward more highly reflecting echogenic levels was observed in 27% of the lesions studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical and hemorheologic data were recorded in a homogeneous group of 72 patients (age range sixty-one to seventy years), suffering from ischemic stroke with an onset of less than eight hours, confirmed clinically and by computerized tomography. A quantitative neurologic analysis and the following hemorheologic parameters were monitored for twenty weeks following the acute episode: fibrinogen, total proteins, albumin, hematocrit, leukocyte and platelet counts, whole blood filterability (WBF), red blood cell deformability (RBCD), and blood plasma, and serum viscosity. The results show a significant decrease in hematocrit values parallel to the clinical neurologic improvement and a significant increase in RBCD in the patients with the better clinical recovery. These data confirm the role of hemorheologic parameters in the clinical follow-up of cerebrovascular disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is universally accepted that the grade of reduction of district blood flow in PVD is directly correlated to alteration of the haemorheological pattern, there is still no uniformity of opinion regarding the existence of a specific rheological alteration in PVD. The scope of our study was to discover the existence of possible PVD-specific markers; we thus carried out a comparative evaluation of the rheological characteristics in blood of controls and patients affected with PVD. Eighty-nine males between the ages of 50 and 65 years (median 58 ± 1 SE) were studied, all with a stage II vascular pathology with clinical onset of less than three months. Exclusion criteria were: diabetes mellitus, hyperlipaemia, stable hypertension, presence of vascular disease in other districts, cardlio-circulatory problems and serious medical or surgical pathologies, previous vascular surgery, a history of acute thrombo-embolic episodes, and chronic alcoholism. Each patient, after a drug wash-out of 20 days, was monitored for haemorheological parameters. At the same time, the above parameters were measured in a group of 50 male controls of the same age range. All 139 subjects were smokers (10-15 cigarettes average per day). Our results indicate that modification in the bio-hum oral (fibrinogen and plasma globulins) parameters, a reduced red blood cell filterability and a relative increase in the number of activated polymorphonucleate cells are probably specific haemorheological markers of the clinical onset of PVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]