Blood Fluidity In Chronic Occlusive Arterial Disease-Effects Of Pentoxifylline

Function of microcirculation depends largely on the fluidity of blood. The study aimes with the influence of risk factors and coagulation phenomena on blood flow in capillaries typical for chronic occlusive arterial disease. (COAD) Investigations of blood fluidity base on passage rates of EDTA-anticoagulated blood through a 5,um micropore filter system in simulation of capillary conditiones. The flow rates in COAD show marked decrease of erythrocyte flow compared to healty subjects (1,8 ± 0,2 and 2,9 ± 0,3 ml/min). With heavy smoking, hypercholesteroT- and hypertriglyceridemia the flow rates in otherwise healty persons accord with those in COAD. After normalisation of lipids flow rates are normalised. Isolated coagulation phenomena typical for hypercoagulability in COAD result in significantly reduced flow rates whereby a decreased fibrinogen level has no influence on blood fluidity. The data point to the necessity of therapeutic elimination of aforementioned risk factors as well as improvement of erythrocyte fluidity and removal of hypercoagulabi1ity in COAD. Therapeutic oral administration of pentoxifylline in COAD disclosed improvement of erythrocyte fluidity (flow rates before/after: 1,7 ± 0,3 to 2,5 ± 0,3 ml/min), decrease of platelet hyperreagibi1ity and plasmatic hypercoagulation as well as an increase of fibrinolytic activity of the blood.