thiobarbituric-acid and Ischemic-Attack--Transient

Topics: Acetylcholine; Animals; Cell Death; Gerbillinae; Hippocampus; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Receptors, Muscarinic; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; Thiobarbiturates; Time Factors

The clinical meaning of high values of blood lipid peroxides, assessed as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBA-RS), was investigated in 19 selected high risk patients with transient ischemic attacks (TIA). Patients were checked every 3-6 months and followed-up for 3 years. 8 patients experienced further vascular episodes, 4 having minor stroke and 4 TIA; one of the latter died from myocardial infarction. Unlike blood cholesterol and glucose. TBA-RS values discriminated patients with vascular episodes: they, indeed, showed significant higher values of TBA-RS. Discriminant analysis further indicated that TBA-RS levels differentiate patients with and without vascular accidents, suggesting that high blood values of lipid peroxides could represent a predictive sign of vascular ischemia.

Topics: Aged; Blood Glucose; Cerebral Infarction; Cholesterol; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Intracranial Arteriosclerosis; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Lipid Peroxides; Male; Middle Aged; Recurrence; Risk Factors; Thiobarbiturates; Triglycerides

Patients with transient ischemic attacks (TIA) were previously shown to have high plasma values of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBA-RS). To study whether these changes could be related to platelet activability, TBA-RS was investigated in 24 TIA patients before and 24 h after 1 g aspirin, an inhibitor of platelet cyclooxygenase pathway. Baseline TBA-RS values were significantly higher in TIA than in controls. Conversely, TIA patients had TBA-RS values after aspirin similar to controls, suggesting that the increase of plasma TBA-RS was not attributable to platelet hyperfunction. The evaluation of metabolic profile showed that patients with highest TBA-RS had hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and/or diabetes mellitus. This study suggests that the increase of plasma TBA-RS in TIA could be an epiphenomenon of altered metabolic pathway.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Aged; Arteriosclerosis; Aspirin; Blood Glucose; Blood Platelets; Coronary Disease; Diabetes Mellitus; Female; Humans; Hypercholesterolemia; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Lipid Peroxides; Male; Middle Aged; Thiobarbiturates