Inhibtion of cold insolubility of serum cryoglobulin by epsilon aminocaproic acid

Cold-induced insolubility of serum cryoglobulins can be inhibited by various carbohydrates and aminocarboxylic acids. Among the inhibitors, Epsilon amino caproic acid (EACA) was found to be effective at therapeutic levels in a patient who had mixed-type cryoglobulinemia. In vivo administration of EACA completely prevented cryoprecipitation; the inhibition being accompanied by a parallel decrease in the viscosity of the precooled serum. The data along with kinetics of serum EACA levels suggest specific binding of the drug to the cryoglobulins in this patient. This binding may be the basis for the observed inhibitory activity. The in vivo use of specific inhibitors of cryoglobulin precipitation may prove to have therapeutic application in the management of cryoglobulinemic patients.