[Effect of molsidomine on thrombocyte aggregation in unstable angina pectoris after parenteral administration of...

In the present study, we took whole blood from 12 patients treated with heparin, acetylsalicylic acid, and nitroglycerin i.v., to measure the aggregability of platelets after acute and prolonged i.v. application of nitroglycerin and after oral application of molsidomine. Aggregation was induced by platelet-activating-factor (PAF). As a measure for platelet aggregability, we determined the PAF-concentration needed to induce irreversible aggregation (threshold dose) and the maximum slope of the aggregation curve with 50 nM PAF. At the beginning, 1 h after the onset of nitroglycerin infusion (3 mg/h), 24 h and 1 h after increasing the nitroglycerin dose (5 mg/h), neither the maximum slope nor the threshold dose for PAF-induced aggregation differed significantly. However, after additional oral application of molsidomine the maximum slope of the aggregation curve decreased significantly. These data indicate that molsidomine decreases the aggregability of platelets in patients, even after pretreatment with heparin, acetylsalicylic acid, and nitroglycerin.