Publication

Abstract : Cerebrovascular diseases include some of the most common and devastating disorders. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is a physiological variable of haemostatic importance. Large platelets are more reactive, produce more prothrombotic factors and aggregate more easily. Ischemic stroke is thought to occur as a result of thrombotic occlusion of a stenosed atherosclerotic blood vessel. Initially platelets adhere to the damaged vessel, resulting in recruitment of further platelets, followed by aggregation, formation of a platelet plug and finally thrombotic occlusion. Thus, the detection of large platelets in patients with cerebrovascular diseases would lend support to the idea that platelet volume influences thrombotic large vessel occlusion leading to ischemic stroke. Though there have been quite a few studies which have demonstrated an association between myocardial infarction and platelet size, very few studies have looked at the association between platelet size and ischemic stroke. Among them there has been discrepancy regarding the sample size, methodology used and the final results. There are no documented studies in India comparing the association of mean platelet volume with ischemic stroke. Hence we have studied these variables using a precise methodology in an unselected group of stroke patients and compared them with data from age- and sex-matched control subjects.