[A new advance in theory of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis and its practical application]

New trends in tests for coagulation and fibrinolysis and advances in diagnosis for the hypercoagulable state and utilization of immunological techniques such as various polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies are reported. We discussed (1) the new markers for hypercoagulable states, (2) differential diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and abnormalities of coagulation in liver cirrhosis (LC), and (3) new markers for fibrinolysis and vascular function. Thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT) levels were higher in thrombotic diseases than in healthy controls. Therefore, TAT should be a good marker for hypercoagulation as fibrinopeptide A (FPA) and soluble fibrin monomer complex (SFMC). Measurement of TAT, plasma-alpha 2 plasmin inhibitor complex (PIC), and D dimer were useful for differential diagnosis of DIC and liver cirrhosis. t-PA-PAI complex correlated well with t-PA, but not with fibrinolytic parameters such as PIC. The t-PA-PAI complex may be a good marker for the function of the vascular endothelium.