Vitamin E and the hypercoagulability of neonatal blood.
This study examines whether vitamin E deficiency has any role in the hypercoagulability of neonatal blood. Blood was collected from mothers and their full-term placental cords. Vitamin E was measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography and whole blood clotting time was measured by recalcification. Cord plasma had significantly lower vitamin E (P < 0.0001) compared with maternal plasma. Whole blood clotting time of cord blood was significantly (P < 0.002) shorter compared with the clotting time of maternal blood. There was a significant correlation between plasma vitamin E and whole blood clotting time (r = 0.54, P < 0.04) of cord blood. The addition of standard vitamin E to cord blood in vitro resulted in prolongation of whole blood clotting time. This suggests that a deficiency of plasma vitamin E can shorten whole blood clotting time in newborns, which may have a role in the disseminated intravascular coagulation frequently experienced by newborn infants.
Jain
S K
SK
Department of Pediatrics, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, Shreveport 71130.
McCoy
B
B
Wise
R
R
D000328:Adult; D001778:Blood Coagulation Disorders / Q000097:blood*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood; D014811:Vitamin E Deficiency / Q000097:blood*; D014914:Whole Blood Coagulation Time
D014810:Vitamin E