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Abstract
Background:
Atherosclerosis may be the
major cause of aging and death,
and the role of platelets
(PLT) is well-known in the
terminal consequences of atherosclerosis.
Methods:
All patients with sickle cell
diseases (SCD) were included.
Results:
We studied 222 males and 212
females with similar ages
(30.8 vs 30.3 years, p>0.05,
respectively). Smoking (23.8%
vs 6.1%, p<0.001), alcohol
(4.9% vs 0.4%, p<0.001),
transfused red blood cells
(RBC) in their lives (48.1
vs 28.5 units, p=0.000), disseminated
teeth losses (5.4% vs 1.4%,
p<0.001), ileus (7.2% vs
1.4%, p<0.001), coronary
heart disease (CHD) (18.0%
vs 13.2%, p<0.05), cirrhosis
(8.1% vs 1.8%, p<0.001),
chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (25.2% vs 7.0%, p<0.001),
leg ulcers (19.8% vs 7.0%,
p<0.001), clubbing (14.8%
vs 6.6%, p<0.001), chronic
renal disease (9.9% vs 6.1%,
p<0.05), and stroke (12.1%
vs 7.5%, p<0.05) were all
higher in males, significantly.
Conclusion:
As a prototype of accelerated
atherosclerosis, hardened
RBC-induced capillary endothelial
damage initiating at birth
terminates with multiorgan
failures in much earlier ages
in the SCD. Excess fat tissue
may be much more important
than smoking and alcohol for
atherosclerosis, and CHD and
stroke may be the terminal
causes of death in both genders
at the moment. Although the
possibility of some severe
bleedings in rare cases, we
have just seen two mortile
cases due to the chronic idiopathic
thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
in our 25 years of experience.
Due to the well-known roles
of PLT during the terminal
atherosclerotic consequences,
chronic ITP may even prolong
the survival in human being
in general.
Key
words: Chronic idiopathic
thrombocytopenic purpura,
platelets, sickle cell diseases,
systemic atherosclerosis,
coronary heart disease, stroke,
vascular endothelial inflammation,
excessive fat tissue, smoking,
alcohol
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