title: Does increased platelet release normalize during anti-hypertensive treatment?
abstract: Blood platelet function was evaluated in 10 men, all 50 years old, with untreated, mild hypertension. Each patient was examined four times: At the beginning of the study, after 5 weeks on placebo treatment, after the following 5 weeks on propranolol 160 mg daily, and finally after a second period of 5 weeks on placebo. At baseline the plasma level of the platelet release product beta-thromboglobulin (BTG) was 41.6 (30.5-57.0) micrograms/l (median and 95% confidence interval). During the first placebo period BTG was normalized to 21.0 (14.1-25.9) micrograms/l. While systolic blood pressure and heart rate fell during beta-adrenergic receptor blockade, BTG remained unchanged throughout the rest of the observation periods. Platelet size increased significantly during treatment with beta-blocker. The present study indicates that the normalization of elevated platelet function which previously has been reported to occur during anti-hypertensive drug therapy, may be explained by patient adaptation to the blood sampling procedure.
mesh_terms: D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010976:Platelet Count; D011433:Propranolol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001620:beta-Thromboglobulin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001620:beta-Thromboglobulin; D011433:Propranolol