title: Plasma glycocalicin levels are not elevated in patients with a history of transient ischaemic event and are normal in aspirinated normal volunteers.
abstract: Glycocalicin (GC) is the soluble portion of platelet membrane protein GP1b, and may be cleaved from the platelet surface during platelet activation. Previous study has indicated that plasma glycocalicin/platelet (GC/plt) levels are elevated in patients presenting with acute stroke. The present study was undertaken to determine the GC/plt levels in patients being treated for transient ischaemic episodes, to assess whether the elevated GC/plt level in acute stroke is due to a detectable, constitutive premorbid state of platelet activation. In sixteen consecutive patients attending a vascular surgery clinic, GC levels were measured on a citrated plasma sample, and corrected for circulating platelet count. Since 15 of 16 patients were taking aspirin when seen at clinic, a control study was undertaken to assess the effect of aspirin on sequential plasma GC/plt levels measured over 10 days--5 pre and post daily aspirin for 5 days, 4 acting as non-aspirinated controls. Plasma GC/plt levels in normal plasma were 21.6 +/- 8.0 fg; mean +/- SD. In the 16 patients the GC/plt levels were 13.1 fg/plt; SD 5.4, range 2.9-24.3. All platelet counts were in the normal range in all patients involved. While a masking effect due to aspirin cannot be completely ruled out, these studies indicate that plasma GC/plt level is not useful as a predictor of acute stroke in the premorbid population.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Huggan
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Milne
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bessos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019038:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIb-IX Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D019038:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIb-IX Complex; C023592:glycocalicin; D001241:Aspirin