Red blood cell morphology after a 100-km run.
We studied the red blood cells of male athletes competing in a 100-km run. The RBC, haematocrit, and red cell indices were unaffected. The red cell morphology was studied in a wet preparation with light microscopy. A slight stomatocytosis was observed after the run compared to a control day (12.4 +/- 1.8% vs 4.3 +/- 1.8%, P less than 0.05). This difference persisted when runner red cells were incubated in buffer. Red cells from a normal donor did not undergo stomatocytic transformation when incubated in runner plasma. These data indicate that stomatocytosis after long-distance running is not caused by a plasmatic factor but is a change in the red cell membrane itself.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Bern, Inselspital, Switzerland.
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Reinhart
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Bärtsch
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Straub
D004906:Erythrocyte Count; D004907:Erythrocyte Deformability; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D006400:Hematocrit; D008297:Male; D012420:Running