Correlation between Platelet Behaviour and Cold-Induced Vasoconstriction in Man, and the Effects of Epoprostenol Infusion

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Abstract
Drugs that cause vasodilatation tend to inhibit platelet behavior; compounds that cause vasoconstriction stimulate platelet behavior. There appears to be a similarity between platelet behavior and vascular tone. This study compared the maximum vasoconstrictor response in the forearm induced by cold stimulation with some aspects of platelet behavior. In 26 normal volunteers there was a close correlation between the maximum vasoconstrictor response to cold and the threshold concentration of Na arachidonate that was needed to induce platelets from each individual to aggregate and to undergo a release reaction (r = 0.774, P < 0.001). Infusion of epoprostenol (prostacyclin) in 5 volunteers altered the maximum vasoconstrictor response to cold and the threshold concentration of sodium arachidonate needed to induce platelet aggregation in a manner parallel to this relationship.