Recent evidence suggests that platelet-associated glycoprotein-specific (GP) antibodies represent true positive autoantibodies and can therefore be taken as the gold standard. Earlier tests, which aimed at detecting platelet-associated IgG (PA-IgG), might have been hampered, e.g. by the variation of platelet size in thrombocytopenic patients. In this study, 206 samples with increased PA-IgG fro...

Previously, indirect thrombin inhibitors such as unfractionated heparin or low-molecular-weight heparin were used as a standard anticoagulation during percutaneous coronary intervention to prevent procedural thrombotic complications but at a risk of hemorrhagic complications. More recently, bivalirudin, a member of the direct thrombin inhibitor class, has been shown to have 1) predictable pharm...

Background: Activated normal platelets undergo many biochemical and morphological changes, some of which are apoptotic. Platelet derived microparticles and shrinked platelets as hallmark of platelet activation and apoptosis disperse surfaces containing procoagulant activity around injured vessels and tissues. This study was conducted to determine microparticles formation and platelet shrinkage ...

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disease with a complex heterogeneous pathogenesis and a bleeding phenotype that is not necessarily correlated to platelet count. In this study, the platelet function was assessed in a well-defined cohort of 33 pediatric chronic ITP patients. Because regular platelet function test cannot be performed in patients with low platelet counts, 2 new assay...

T restoration of coronary flow after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been the most remarkable advance in the treatment of acute coronary syndromes in recent decades. Pharmacological and mechanical ways of achieving rapid and complete reperfusion of epicardial arteries have been the goal of many clinical trials. Questions such as whether PCI is superior to fibrinolysis, or if bolus lyti...