Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) in Patients with Different Degrees of Chronic Arterial Obstructive Disease

Platelet activation and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Evidence has been accumulating that in the evolution of chronic arterial obstructive disease (CAOD) platelets are also crucially important. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to assess plasma levels of PDGF in patients with different degrees of CAOD according to Fontaine.Twenty patients (17 men, 3 women, mean age sixty-eight ± seven years) with inter mittent claudication (Fontaine stage II) entered the study and their PDGF levels were assessed by radioimmunoassay. Ten additional patients (7 men, 3 women, mean age seventy-three ± seven years) with more severe CAOD (leg pain at rest/skin ulcers) were also studied. Ten healthy subjects (6 men, 4 women, mean age fifty-four ±six years) comprised the control group. Patients in stage II were reinvestigated after sixty days of a "training" procedure.Patients with both intermittent claudication and more severe disease had higher level...