Intravascular coagulation in hyperlipidemia

Abstract

Activation of the coagulation system was evaluated in 30 patients with familial hyperlipoproteinemia (types II and IV), by measurement of high molecular weight fibrin(ogen) derivatives (HMWFD). These HMWFD can be separated from fibrinogen and its derivatives X, D, and E by gel filtration of plasma on 4% agarose columns. Type II patients had a higher plasma concentration of HMWFD (31.6% of total plasma fibrinogen-like material) than type IV patients (19.8%) or normal subjects (3.2%). The HMWFD were shown to consist at least in part of crosslinked fibrin by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Serum fibrin(ogen) degradation products (FDP) were assayed by staphylococcal clumping test and tanned red cell hemagglutination inhibition immunoassay and were found to be normal in type II and type IV patients. Our data show that type II patients have increased circulating HMWFD, while type IV patients have lesser increases in these soluble fibrin complexes.