Blood rheological properties and lipid peroxidation in cerebral and systemic circulation of neurocritical patients

The present study was aimed at investigating the red blood cell (RBC) aggregation and the parameters of lipid peroxidation - malondialdehyde (MDA) and MDA + 4-hydroxyalkenals (HAE) - in the blood of critically deteriorated stroke patients (brain infarcts, parenchymatous and subarachnoid hemorrhages) and in the control group. Measurements were made in blood samples from the common carotid artery, the both internal jugular and cubital veins. The RBC aggregation index was found to increase by about 80 per cent in both the cerebral and systemic circulation as compared to the control blood samples. MDA content appeared also significantly higher in the blood flowing out of the damaged hemisphere of the neurocritical patients as compared to the control group. In the blood flowing out of the damaged hemisphere of the neurocritical patients MDA as well as MDA + HAE content significantly exceeded the values found in blood samples of the jugular vein of the contralateral hemisphere, carotid artery and the cubital vein. The results of this study suggest a certain interdependence between the blood plasma lipid peroxidation and the RBC aggregation in the brain vessels following its damage.