title: Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with decreased platelet activity in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: Moderate alcohol consumption (MAC) and platelet inhibition have been independently associated with a reduced risk for the development of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The effects of MAC on the initial platelet status in patients presenting with AMI are not elucidated. Here we sought to define the effects of MAC on platelet characteristics in AMI patients before applying any reperfusion strategies. The study was designed as an analysis within the cohort study in 23 patients with AMI enrolled in the GUSTO-III. Platelets were investigated by different techniques, including aggregometry, flow cytometry, and ELISA. MAC patients exhibited mild, but consistent, inhibition of platelet aggregability, surface receptor expression, and released substances as compared to non-alcohol consuming patients. These differences were significant for 5 microM ADP (p = 0.04), 10 microM ADP-induced aggregation (p = 0.02); P-selectin (p = 0.01), and PECAM-1 (p = 0.02) platelet-bound expression. Our study confirms that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with diminished platelet activation in patients presenting with AMI. The ability of MAC to favorably modulate the pre-reperfusion platelet status in such patients is of clinical importance, and further investigation in large-scale clinical trials seem warranted.
authors.affiliation: Sinai Center for Thrombosis Research, Schapiro Research Building, Baltimore, Maryland 21215, USA. Heartdrug@aol.com.
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Serebruany
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Lowry
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Fuzailov
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gurbel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood*; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000209:etiology*; D019007:P-Selectin / Q000097:blood; D015539:Platelet Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D010974:Platelet Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood; D015424:Reperfusion / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D019007:P-Selectin; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; D000431:Ethanol; D001241:Aspirin