Summary
Adrenochrome semicarbazone injected intramuscularly into apparently healthy human
volunteers resulted in a decrease in the number of circulating platelets after 30
min. The decrease ranged from 9 to 44% with an average of 24%. The platelet count
returned to near normal by 60 min. A similar concentration had no effect in vitro. The sodium salicylate carrier used to solubilize the adrenochrome complex had no
effect on platelet numbers in vivo or in vitro.
Blood taken 30 min post injection and prepared by a fixation-shadow cast technique
contained many disintegrating platelets and a high concentration of membrane fragments
and free organelles. Thin sections of platelets revealed extensive intracellular alteration,
but physically intact limiting membranes. Many free vesicles of various sizes and
shapes and a few free mitochondria were shown in cross section.
Two major metabolites isolated from human urine after adrenochrome semicarbazone injection
caused platelet disruption when added to citrated PRP in vitro. The disruption was reflected by a decrease in the number of platelets and by the
electron microscopic appearance of fixed-shadow cast preparations.
It is suggested that the sequence of events observed in this study may represent,
greatly exaggerated, a process which occurs in the body constantly as a small amount
of epinephrine seems to be metabolized through an adrenochrome pathway.
