Decreased ADAMTS13 activity in plasma from patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

The ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type I domain 13) activity was measured by a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay in the plasma of healthy volunteers and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) patients to examine its usefulness in the diagnosis of TTP. The plasma levels of the ADAMTS13 activity did not show a normal distribution. Its median value was 107% (range: 55-170%) in healthy volunteers, but was significantly lower in patients with TTP (acquired or familial) and in patients with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Frequency of abnormal biphasic aPTT clot waveforms in patients with underlying disorders associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Abnormal biphasic waveform (BPW) patterns were previously reported when the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) was performed in plasma from patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). In this study, the prevalence of the BPW was examined in a cohort of 508 hospitalized patients with elevated fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) levels (>10 microg/mL). The presence of a BPW was automatically flagged by the MDA analyzer when the slope of the precoagulation phase in the waveform exceeded a threshold value of -0.

Hemostatic abnormalities and leukocyte activation caused by infection in patients with malignant lymphoma during chemotherapy.

Hemostatic parameters were examined before and during 102 courses of chemotherapy in 42 patients with malignant lymphoma with high risk for infection. The white blood cell count was significantly reduced in all patients at days 1 and 3, but significantly increased at days 7 and 9, compared to before chemotherapy. At day 7 of chemotherapy, tissue factor (TF) mRNA levels in leukocytes were significantly increased in all patients, especially those with infection.

Haemostatic abnormalities and thrombotic disorders in malignant lymphoma.

We examined haemostatic abnormalities and thrombotic disorders in 217 patients with malignant lymphoma. Plasma levels of fibrinogen and D-dimer were significantly higher in patients with malignant lymphoma than in healthy subjects. The incidence of severe complications, such as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and interstitial pneumonia (IP), differed with each clinical stage or histological type, but they occurred frequently in stage IV or natural killer (NK) cell lymphoma.