Platelets aggregation changes in patients with Rendu Osler Disease – Brief Report

Viola Maria Popov, MD, PhD, Haematology Department County Emergency Hospital Arges, Aleea Spitalului Street nr 1, Pitesti , Arges E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Background: Rendu Osler Disease is an autosomal dominant disease characterised by multiple telangiectatic lesions on the skin and mucosa. Pathogenesis of hemorrhagic diathesis in patients with Rendu Osler Disease is li le understood. It may be due to both mechanical fragilities and haemostasis or aggregation platelet alterations. Design and methods: We studied the platelet aggregation pa ern for ADP, collagen, epinephrine and ristocetin in 4 patients with Rendu Osler Disease who were admi ed in University Emergency Hospital Bucharest. All tests were performed on a Chrono-log aggregometer using optical method. Results: The analysis of the graphic curves reveals a marked alteration of platelets’ function in patients with Rendu Osler disease versus control, with a marked decrease in slope and amplitude. Regarding the lag phase’s amplitude and duration, there were no modifi cations when compared to control. The analysis of the graphic curves for ristocetin and epinephrine reveals a severely altered response. Blood coagulation tests, Quick Test, APTT and fi brinogen were within normal limits for all patients. The results were similar for blood glucose, renal tests and the lipid profi le. Regarding the complete blood count, normal values were obtained excepting haemoglobin, which was constantly low in all patients, that being associated with low serum iron and morphologic abnormalities of the erythrocytes. Conclusions: Patients with Rendu Osler Disease have severely altered platelet functions. Our results were similar with other reports, which indicated severe alterations of platelet aggregation.