Abnormal circulating red blood cells in the painful bruising syndrome.
Red cells of 3 patients with the painful bruising syndrome showed morphological abnormalities. In the fraction not sedimenting in Ficoll/Isopaque gradient centrifugation, some of the cells had club-shaped processes, mitochondria, nuclear remnants, and vacuoles. In freeze-etch preparations, 90% of the red cells showed membrane elevations at pH 7.4 and 25% at pH 6.4, while in freeze-etch preparations of controls these values were 55 and 0 respectively. In addition, rouleaux formation was markedly enhanced in the preparations of blood of patients with the painful bruising syndrome.
D000328:Adult; D004438:Ecchymosis / Q000097:blood*; D004913:Erythrocytes, Abnormal / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D005613:Freeze Etching; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008875:Middle Aged; D013577:Syndrome