This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Berger, S. Articles by Wasserman, L. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Berger, S. Articles by Wasserman, L. R.

Abnormalities of Platelet Function in Patients with Polycythemia Vera¹

Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10029

The exact mechanism(s) of thrombosis and hemorrhage in polycythemia vera has not yet been delineated. Platelet function studies were performed by examining platelet aggregation in 47 polycythemia vera patients (62 studies) with low ("spent"), normal, or elevated hematocrits and with varying platelet counts. Adenosine diphosphate, epinephrine, collagen, and thrombin were used as aggregating agents. Eighty-one % of the 62 studies were abnormal. The frequency of abnormal tests increased from those with normal hematocrits and platelet counts (75%) through to those with elevated hematocrits and platelet counts (100%). One hundred % of the studies in spent polycythemia vera were abnormal. Abnormal bleeding times and thrombohemorrhagic complications did not correlate with each other or with abnormal aggregation, hematocrits, or platelet counts. Repeat studies following therapy showed improvement in 10 of 13 patients. The incidence of abnormal aggregation in polycythemia vera is high; however, the significance of this finding in the pathogenesis of thrombosis and hemorrhage remains obscure.

¹ Supported in part by USPHS Grants HE-10905, HE-12443, and HE-05488 from the National Heart and Lung Institute and CA-11816 and CA-10728 from the National Cancer Institute; also by the Albert A. List, Frederick Machlin, Anna Ruth Lowenberg, and Helen B. Kuyler Funds.

Received 2/ 1/73. Accepted 7/23/73.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. L. Spivak Polycythemia vera: myths, mechanisms, and management Blood, December 15, 2002; 100(13): 4272 - 4290. [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. J. Gumina, D. A. Foley, A. Tefferi, T. W. Rooke, and R. C. Shields Polycythemia Vera: A Case Report and Discussion on Pathogenic Mechanisms of Increased Thrombosis Angiology, September 1, 2002; 53(5): 587 - 591. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. R. Moliterno, W. D. Hankins, and J. L. Spivak Impaired Expression of the Thrombopoietin Receptor by Platelets from Patients with Polycythemia Vera N. Engl. J. Med., February 26, 1998; 338(9): 572 - 580. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]