A young woman with recurrent deep venous thromboses and spontaneous abortions was studied. She suffered an ovarian infarction followed by aortic thrombosis and renal failure. Evidence for deficient prostacyclin production was found and she responded to treatment with a prostacyclin infusion. This syndrome is identical with that seen in women with the lupus anticoagulant, but the lupus anticoagu...

Prostacyclin is one of a number of lipid mediators elaborated from the metabolism of arachidonic acid by the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes. This prostanoid is a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation, and its production by endothelial cells and protective role in the vasculature are well established. In contrast, much less is known regarding the function of this prostanoid in other disease pro...

After repair of a Bochdalek diaphragmatic hernia, shunting of blood away from the lungs produced progressive hypoxaemia in a neonate. Changes in plasma concentrations of the vasoconstrictor prostanoid thromboxane were associated with changes in pulmonary vascular resistance in this infant. Plasma concentrations of the vasodilator prostanoid prostacyclin were also monitored during acute changes ...

Intra-arterial or intravenous infusion of prostacyclin at three dose levels (2, 5, and 10 ng/kg per min) in 10 subjects without evidence of coronary heart disease or cardiac failure, led to a distinct fall in peripheral and total pulmonary vascular resistances. This was accompanied by a drop in intra-arterial blood pressure, and the acceleration of heart rate. Stroke volume, cardiac output, mea...

Methods were developed for measuring changes in platelet sensitivity to a release-inducing stimulus and in platelet cyclic AMP in fresh whole blood samples from rabbits. These techniques permitted detection of the effects of exogenous and endogenous prostacyclin on circulating platelets. In these methods, rabbit platelets were labeled in vitro by incubation with [14C]serotonin and [3H]adenine a...

1. The capacity of various tissues of the porcine kidney to convert [1-14C]arachidonic acid into radiolabelled prostaglandins was studied. 2. Only after removal from the cortical matrix, were renal blood vessels able to convert arachidonic acid into prostaglandins (primarily prostacyclin). In contrast, convoluted tubules showed a low capacity to metabolize arachidonic acid. 3. The failure to de...

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with pulmonary hypertension (PH) which results in high morbidity and mortality. There are well-established therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), but few reports about their use in SCDPH. We report the clinical course of 11 SCDPH patients on maximal supportive therapy including other pulmonary vasodilators, who received compassionate therapy...

In a pilot study, 26 patients with acute completed strokes (48 hours to 5 days after cerebral infarction) were randomly assigned to the prostacyclin (PGI2) or placebo groups. PGI2 sodium salt (Epoprostenol, Wellcome Research Laboratories and Upjohn Company) or its solvent (glycine buffer) were infused into the subclavian vein for six-hour periods in five courses separated by six-hour intervals....

Primary pulmonary hypertension is a rare disease in childhood associated with a poor prognosis. However, during the past 10 years, pulmonary vasodilator treatment has somewhat improved its prognosis. Long term continuous infusion of prostacyclin (epoprostenol) has been shown to improve physical capacity and to reduce mortality in primary and secondary pulmonary hypertension. It has been reporte...