PLASMA AND PLATELET PHOSPHOLIPIDS IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS

A possible pathogenic mechanism of multiple sclerosis has been recognised by Putman (1) in vein occlusion in the affected areas Field et al. (2) have also suggested that the increase in blood platelet adhesiveness and stickness found in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) (3, 4, 5) may reflect a similar in vivo tendency with a possible venous occlusion and plaque formation or extension. Abnormal platelet behavior has recently been detected by measuring the electrophoretic mobility of platelets from MS patients and has been attributed to an active constituent of MS plasma, possibly lysolecithin bound to the low density lipoproteins (6). Millar et al. (7) referred the increase in adhesiveness and stickiness to the degration of the neural tissue and the release into the blood of lipid material, able to modify platelet behaviour (8) and to induce thrombi formation (9,10, 11). In a previous report (12) the lipid composition of blood platelets from MS patients has been compared with that from matched normal subjects and no difference has been detected. Lipid composition of plasma from MS patients is now compared with that from matched normal subjects and any change is correlated with platelet stickiness and adhesiveness. In order to establishe possible correlations between platelet and plasma lipids in the same subjects, the lipid composition of platelets has also bee studied in these subjects. © 1969.