New Article Re: Eltrombopag

I think this is significant information for those using or thinking about using TPO's. Thoughts?


Psaila et al show that patients with untreated ITP have platelets that are more activated by flow cytometry than control patients as evidenced by increased expression of P-selectin and activated GPIIb/IIIa. There also was increased expression of GPIb, but this may reflect the larger mean platelet size noted. While the authors did not compare this platelet reactivity with patients who were thrombocytopenic for other reasons, these findings are consistent with prior reports that there may be an increased risk of thrombosis associated with ITP, that many patients with ITP do not have significant bleeding even with severe thrombocytopenia, and that platelets in patients with ITP may be activated. Interestingly, Psaila et al found that stimulation of platelets from ITP patients with the thrombin receptor activator TRAP resulted in lower responsiveness as measured by surface levels of activated GPIIb/IIIa and P-selectin expression, suggesting that while the platelets of ITP patients are more activated in the circulation, the potential for further activation of these platelets is limited in thrombocytopenic patients with ITP."


bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/content/119/17/3876.full?ct

Question: What exactly does it mean: "patients with untreated ITP have platelets that are more activated..."?

Does having platelets that are more "activated" mean that they tend to clot better?

Was there was another article that you posted about ITPers having platelets that behave differently? Or maybe it was in the newsletter. Anyway, this is good information that I'll pass on to my hemo.

Thanks Sandi for the post! Very very interesting! makes a lot of sense.

"When a blood vessel is damaged, the platelets become activated and secrete chemicals that cause the formation of a fibrin mesh. This mesh traps platelets and red and white blood cells, forming a clot that seals the damaged blood vessel."

www.sciencephoto.com/media/151882/enlarge